IN THE MATTER OF

ONTARIO REGULATION 123/98

MADE UNDER THE POLICE SERVICES ACT, R.S.O. 1990, C.P. 15

AND AMMENDMENTS THERETO;

AND IN THE MATTER OF

POLICE CONSTABLE JAMES RAMSAY #9679

AND THE

OTTAWA POLICE SERVICE

SENTENCE

APPEARANCES:

Ms. Louise Morel for the Ottawa Police Service

Mr. Michael Lamothe for Police Constable James Ramsay

BEFORE:

Terence Kelly, Deputy Chief (Ret)

York Regional Police

Hearing Officer

SENTENCE DATE:

February 8th, 2021

Sentence – PC J. Ramsay Page 1

SENTENCE

Police Constable James Ramsay #9679

February 8th, 2021

Deputy Chief Terence Kelly (Ret.) before commencing with sentence in this matter, I wish to thank Ms. Louise Morel, the Service Prosecutor, and Mr. Michael Lamothe, representing Police Constable James Ramsey, for their comments and exhibits entered, all of which have assisted me.

Police Constable James Ramsay, #9679 has pleaded guilty and been found guilty of one count of discreditable conduct, and one count of insubordination laid under the Police Services Act.

The guilty pleas were advanced with an Agreed Statement of Facts (Exhibit 8).

Agreed Statement of Facts

Count 1 - Discreditable Conduct

Count 2 – Insubordination

On April 27, 2020, the Ottawa Police Service’s Professional Standards Section (“PSS”) was alerted to a meme circulating rapidly throughout the organization.

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On April 27, 2020, a Chief’s Complaint was initiated and a PSS investigation was launched to locate the creator. The investigation involved 82 interviews with sworn civilian members, as well as with members of the public.

As a result of the investigation two memes were discovered. The first meme (version1) depicted 11 current and former Ottawa Police Service (OPS) officers and a second meme (Version 2) depicted 13 current and former OPS officers. Some of the officers depicted have been disciplined under the Police Services Act, others were terminated or resigned. The caption read: “Ottawa Police Service – We’re always hiring…anyone.” The majority of the officers appear to be racialized persons.

Both versions were spread around the organization. Version 1 was estimated to have spread to 13 members and Version 2 to over 500 members.

On May 4, 2020, Constable Ramsay attended an interview with PSS. During this interview, he admitted to creating Version 1 of the meme on or about April 24, 2020, which portrayed 11 officers. During this interview, Constable Ramsay also admitted to distributing the meme to four officers through a WhatsApp personal chat group and to one other officer through a private phone text message, all while off-duty.

Constable Ramsay maintained that his intent in creating the meme (Version 1) was not to marginalize racialized members of the OPS. He stated, rather, that the meme was reflective of his frustration with the amount of officers being disciplined recently within the organization. Constable Ramsay stated that he selected the 11 officers for the meme by conducting an internet search for “Ottawa Police Charged”.

Constable Ramsay further stated that he did not want to be labelled as racist as a result of the media attention associated to the meme. He apologised for his actions and admitted creating and sharing the meme was a mistake. He stated that he did not expect the meme to spread throughout the organization and was unaware as to who created Version 2 of the meme.

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I accept the guilty pleas on the facts in this case. The facts stated and agreed to, provide clear and convincing evidence of the alleged misconduct strongly supporting Constable Ramsay’s plea of guilty. If not for the guilty plea, which I take into account as a mitigating factor and recognition of his conduct, I would consider a greater penalty.

Due to the circumstances surrounding this misconduct, notwithstanding the guilty plea and the Agreed Statement of Facts. I believe the allegations, when taken in the broader context of employee/employer relations, it is prudent to provide written reasons for my findings.

Public Interest

The police officer is the person most responsible for initially setting the wheels of the administration of justice in motion and, therefore, the public cannot be expected to respect the law if it does not respect, and believe in, the dedication and integrity of the Police Service.

A police officer’s conduct ought to set an example for the community to follow and thus any shortcomings in their conduct will colour the image of the Police Service in the eyes of the public.

Police officers must conduct themselves in such a way as to avoid discrediting or compromising the image of their service. Indeed, their conduct must be exemplary, even when off duty, and they must maintain a position of respect within the community in which they live and provide services. Today when we definitely need the support of the public, police officers must be aware of the importance of treating the public and all individuals with respect. Being respectful of others means using courteous speech and polite words, and it means acting appropriately in every situation.

The public must be confident that police officers will strive to set an example for those in the community. Anything short of this will be seen as a contradiction and serve no other purpose but to undermine the efforts of all police officers and the explicit goals of the Service. The most basic reason for requiring this high standard in a police officer’s public as well as his private life stems from the

Sentence – PC J. Ramsay Page 4 realization that the efficient operation of a police service depends on the existence of mutual respect and trust between members of the Police Service and the community itself. This mutual respect and trust will deteriorate when the conduct in a police officer’s public or private life is less than blameless

The well-entrenched penalty factors described in jurisprudence of police discipline; the public interest, the nature of the misconduct, and the damage to the reputation of the police service, in my view, all relate to the concept of the public trust in policing, and our willingness and ability to address wrong doing when it surfaces.

The public trust in policing remains fragile and the actions of an individual officer can influence many. Public trust for policing ebbs and flows, dependent on a variety of influences. While support and trust must be continually earned, it takes very little to destroy it.

Specific and General Deterrence

Specific and general deterrence is a well-recognized principle in sentencing law, which is meant to discourage others from participating in similar misconduct. It is particularly important where it is desirable to send a message to other police officers that certain conduct will not be tolerated. Members of the Service must know that the penalty for this type of misconduct will be significant; personally, professionally, and financially.

Seriousness of the Misconduct

The seriousness of the offence is, of course, the primary consideration. In this particular case, the actions of Police Constable Ramsay were clearly inappropriate and an embarrassment to the Ottawa Police Service.

The evidence presented to this Trier-of-Fact clearly demonstrated the public interest was not first and foremost in the mind of Police Constable Ramsay. Professionalism and integrity cannot be

Sentence – PC J. Ramsay Page 5 compromised. The public is entitled to have high expectations of a police service and its members. To retain this trust and confidence, they must be professional and ethical in everything they do.

There is no doubt that the use of insulting language directed at abusing any person, is conduct that is highly offensive, unacceptable and has no place in today’s society. This is particularly the case for serving police officers acting in the course of their official duties. As upholders and guardians of the law, police officers have an extremely high standard of behaviour enjoined upon them as individuals to exhibit no preconception of others, either while on or off duty.

I remind Constable Ramsay that no one need choose to be a police officer or bear the public trust; but those who do so, must acquire the excellence of character necessary to live up to it. Given all the information provided to me with regard to Constable Ramsay’s career profile and letters of support from the community, past and present members of the Ottawa Police Service, I am left with the distinct impression that Police Constable James Ramsey is a fine, capable and decent officer who is actively engaged in the community in which he serves.

In determining a suitable disposition in this matter, the Tribunal has heard submissions representing the position of both parties and has given careful consideration to this information. After a finding of guilt, the Tribunal must determine if the proposed sanction achieves the objectives set out above; balancing all of these factors will assist in the final decision. The misconduct relative to these charges has been described adequately by the Prosecution, and Defence has consented to its substance. Additionally, the joint submission on penalty has established aggravating and mitigating factors that speak to the appropriateness of the proposed penalty.

However, for the record, I wish to make it very clear that my consideration in arriving at a fair and reasonable penalty is directed by an appreciation of the seriousness of the actions that actually took place. The public must have confidence that the police will strive to set an example for those in the community. Anything short of this will be seen as a contradiction and serve no other purpose but to undermine the efforts of all serving officers and the explicit goals of the Police Service.

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Clearly, Police Constable Ramsay recognizes the mistake he has made and accepts full responsibility for his actions. Hopefully, he will become a better police officer and will utilize this experience to educate fellow officers so that they may avoid similar occurrences.

In addition to the Agreed Statement of Facts submitted during the hearing, there was an agreement that the appropriate disposition for the finding of one count of Discreditable Conduct, one count of Insubordination is as follows:

Demotion in rank from First Class Constable to Second Class Constable for a period of 9 months in accordance with section 85(1)(c) of the Police Services Act and participate in the Restorative Justice Process designed and led by a designated Elder in accordance with section 85(7)(c) of the Police Services Act. The Healing Circle is to be completed within 3 months of the date of penalty subject to the availability of the designated Elder.

Terence Kelly Deputy Chief (Retired) York Regional Police Hearing Officer.

Sentence Date: February 8th, 2021

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