A Guelph police officer showed signs of violent tendencies years before he attacked a teenager handcuffed to a hospital bed in 2016, a professional misconduct hearing officer heard on Monday.
Const. Corey McArthur, who is being sentenced under the Police Services Act (PSA), was spoken to by supervisors about his use of force in numerous arrests; he has been criminally convicted of assault while on the job; and faced accusations of aggressiveness during divorce proceedings.
All that happened before the officer was diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder in 2018 and the death of his partner in 2013, which has been said to have inspired the onset of symptoms.
McArthur’s diagnosis itself is not in question, but rather the extent to which it factored into his actions on the day of the hospital attack.
Guelph Police Service (GPS) is looking to have McArthur removed from the force, suggesting he’s no stranger to anger issues. Meanwhile, the police association seeks to have him reinstated to the front lines, pointing to ongoing treatment he’s receiving for PTSD.
In 2018, McArthur pleaded guilty to the criminal assault of a teenager handcuffed to a bed at Guelph General Hospital in 2016, followed by a guilty plea to professional misconduct under the PSA resulting in the sentencing hearing currently underway.
It’s the second sentencing hearing for McArthur on this matter. He was previously ordered to quit or be fired but that was overturned on appeal and a new sentencing hearing ordered.
Monday’s hearing was a continuation of testimony that began in July.
Testifying on behalf of the defence, forensic psychiatrist Dr. Jonathan Rootenberg told hearing officer Morris Elbers, a retired OPP superintendent, McArthur is not antisocial or predisposed to aggression. Rather, at the time of the hospital attack, he was experiencing hyper vigilance and “over-reacted” – to use a term from McArthur himself – due to his PTSD.
“It seems to me those symptoms played a prominent role in his behaviour that day,” Rootenberg said.
During previous testimony, Rootenberg acknowledged a person’s past behaviour is an important factor in determining future behaviour – something GPS lawyer Jessica Barrow focused on during cross examination.
She pointed out previous supervisors’ concerns, judicial findings from McArthur’s divorce from his first wife and comments from three separate judges who accused McArthur of fabricating or exaggerating evidence while testifying.
“Two things could be true at the same time,” she said of someone having PTSD and an inclination toward violent behaviour. “There’s a difference between someone being quick to get angry and being quick to get violent.”
Angry outbursts are a symptom of PTSD, but there’s no direct link to violence, Rootenberg acknowledged.
Barrow also latched onto the fact much of Rootenberg’s assessment of McArthur was based on the officer’s self-reported history, which included several omissions of previously reported concerns about his anger … at least initially.
She noted the judges referenced above described McArthur’s testimony as “self-serving” and implied McArthur’s omissions could be an attempt to manipulate the system now.
Rootenberg responded by saying some of the analysis is meant to identify patterns of deceit, of which there were none for the officer.
In terms of supervisors’ concerns about use of force, the doctor said it’s not uncommon to mention areas of improvement during employment reviews, but noted the overall flavour of those reviews cast McArthur in a positive light.
He considers each incident of previous violence or concerns of violence to be a solitary event.
Rootenberg is expected to wrap up his testimony on Tuesday.
Additional hearing days have not been firmly set at this point, but additional testimony is expected from character references as well as another psychiatrist.
McArthur was convicted of criminal assault in 2008 in relation to the arrest of a man in Downtown Guelph and faced a private citizen’s charge of assault causing bodily harm in 2012 that was later dropped.
