Chatham-Kent officer fired for discreditable conduct at 2017 staff Christmas party

The Chatham-Kent police crest is seen on a uniform in Chatham, Ont. (Chris Campbell / CTV Windsor)

An officer with the Chatham-Kent Police Service has been fired for discreditable conduct at a staff Christmas party in 2017.

Const. Andrew Jaconelli previously pleaded guilty to seven counts of discreditable conduct under the Police Services Act.

The charges stem from a Chatham-Kent Police Services “platoon party” on Nov. 24, 2017 at a co-workers home. A five-day hearing was held in October 2022.

The Agreed Statement of Facts in the case reads “Constable Jaconelli was observed consuming red wine throughout the night and was described by all as intoxicated or ‘drunk’ throughout the evening.”

Testimony heard Const. Jaconelli used his right hand to intentionally grab the buttocks of one of the complainants.

Another complainant says Const. Jaconelli put his arms around her shoulders and held a dart to her neck. She was not hurt.

Another male complainant says Const. Jaconelli “out of the blue” intentionally threw two darts in his direction.

Const. Jaconelli was asked to leave by the party host, which he did.

Const. Jaconelli was arrested in December 2018 for sexual assault and assault with a weapon. He pleaded guilty in criminal court to one count of sexual assault in November 2020 while the other charge was dropped, according to the Agreed Statement of Facts.

At the time, Const. Jaconelli received a conditional discharge and was placed on a six-months probation.

During the PSA hearing lawyers for CKPS took the position “Constable Jaconelli’s usefulness to the Chatham-Kent Police Service has been nullified and consequently, he ought to be dismissed.”

Const. Jaconellis’ lawyers on the other hand argued dismissal was not warranted and instead asked for a demotion to second-class constable for two years.

The matter was dealt with by Sgt. Greg Walton, a retired member of the OPP who served as adjudicator.

In his detailed 81-page overview of the evidence Walton wrote “Constable Jaconelli was abusing alcohol at the time of his misconduct and likely had PTSD. While I do not find that there is a nexus between Constable Jaconelli having PTSD and/or his alcohol consumption and his behaviour, disability as a penalty factor is worthy of slight mitigation consideration.”

Even though he has 17 years experience with CKPS, Walton believes “Constable Jaconelli not only has lost the trust of his peers and his employer, but his behaviour undermined the public’s trust in him and the Chatham-Kent Police Service. The public, rightfully so, expects the Chatham-Kent Police Service to respond accordingly; with an appropriate and fitting sanction.”

Walton believes Const. Jaconelli’s behaviour was offensive to the public.

“Constable Jaconelli put himself above the law when he began throwing darts at a colleague, held a dart to another co-worker’s neck, and sexually assaulted (victim name). Clearly, this behaviour is the antithesis of what the public expects from a member of the Chatham-Kent Police Service; it is criminal behaviour, the type of behaviour that police officers are sworn to defend, not commit.”

In a statement to CTV News CKPS Chief Gary Conn says he agrees with Walton’s decision.

“We (CKPS) and the public expect (as they should) our officers to be held to a higher standard, the decision rendered here today hopefully will bring some closure to this issue while further ensuring to maintain and restore the public trust and police legitimacy,” Chief Conn writes.

“It is certainly an unfortunate set of circumstances which has led us here today, including both a criminal and PSA process associated to this individual.”