A disciplinary hearing for two high-ranking OPP officers came to an abrupt halt on Wednesday afternoon when lawyers for the force sought to have the judge in the case removed.
The two Ontario Provincial Police internal affairs officers are facing internal charges, but are claiming they are victims of a political prosecution by Commissioner Julian Fantino, accusing him of being in cahoots with the OPP union.
The hearing against Supt. Ken MacDonald and Insp. Allison Jevons is being held at OPP headquarters in Orillia.
MacDonald used to head the unit that probes internal police corruption, and Jevons was a senior investigator in the unit. Both now face charges of neglect of duty and deceit.
They claim they are victims of a witch-hunt inside the OPP being orchestrated by Fantino and the head of the OPP union, the Ontario Provincial Police Association.
In the case in question, MacDonald and Jevons were ordered to look into why OPP supervisors in eastern Ontario looked the other way when a local officer allegedly took a baseball bat to his wife's car.
When MacDonald and Jevons concluded there was misconduct, the police union filed a complaint claiming major problems with the whole investigation.
Fantino, who was fresh to the job as commissioner, ordered a review of the findings.
He later agreed with the union and charged the two senior officers with neglect of duty and deceit for their handling of the investigation.
MacDonald and Jevons, however, are fighting back, and in the process made their own allegations, which Fantino has called "hysterical nonsense" in his testimony.
In earlier testimony, the OPP commissioner denied he was bowing to pressure from the OPP union.
Fantino also denied any personal vendetta against MacDonald and Jevons.
But on Wednesday, before Fantino could take the stand again, his lawyers demanded the judge recuse himself, claiming Judge Leonard Montgomery is biased.
They're upset over comments Montgomery made in court about Fantino's testimony and his professional conduct. They told the judge that if he doesn't step aside, they'll take their complaint to a higher court, claiming they even have the support of Ontario Attorney General Chris Bentley.
The lawyer for MacDonald and Jevons called the allegations against the judge "astounding" and an attempt to derail the hearing so Fantino won't have to continue testifying.
Two previous adjudicators have already stepped aside due to legal wrangling.
James Morton
1100 - 5255 Yonge Street
Toronto, Ontario
M2N 6P4
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