Officer who assaulted ex-fiancée should not keep job, says Fredericton police chief

Fredericton's police chief says he doesn't think an officer who pleaded guilty to assaulting his former fiancée should be allowed to keep his job with the police force.

Chief Martin Gaudet testified at an arbitration hearing on Thursday that the actions of Const. Colin Holmes, and the ensuing media attention, have negatively affected the reputation of the Fredericton Police Force and that he wouldn't be accepted for the role if he applied today.

"I just don't see how an officer accused of, or pleading guilty of domestic violence, intimate partner violence, should keep his badge — his or her badge," said Gaudet, speaking before George Filliter, who's serving as arbitrator in the matter.

"This is not a common assault, this is intimate partner violence."

Holmes was charged and pleaded guilty to summary assault of his former fiancée at her home in Hanwell, just south of Fredericton, on Sep. 24, 2023.

However, Holmes was spared a criminal conviction after a judge granted him a conditional discharge, which effectively left him with no criminal record so long as he obeys several conditions imposed at sentencing.

Holmes is now the subject of an arbitration hearing by the New Brunswick Police Commission, following a complaint lodged by Gaudet.

Gaudet alleges Holmes engaged in discreditable conduct by committing intimate partner violence, thus violating the officer code of conduct laid out in the Police Act.

Filliter is tasked with deciding whether or not Holmes can remain on the force, after hearing evidence by commission lawyers and lawyers representing the constable.

Precedent for keeping his job, says lawyer

TJ Burke, who is representing Holmes, argued there's precedent for his client keeping his job, set by instances where other officers were allowed to do so in similar circumstances.

He listed off a series of police officers, who in most cases were granted a conditional discharge for assault and were still allowed to keep their jobs.

One of the more high-profile examples Burke used was the case of former constable Darrell Brewer, who was convicted of assaulting his girlfriend in 2014 and still allowed to remain on the force.

"And he offended another partner and lost his job," Gaudet said, referring to more trouble Brewer later got himself into.

Gaudet said those cases have continued to mar the force's reputation in the eyes of the public.

"Society trusts us to have higher standards and morals than the general public," he said.

Gaudet's testimony was his last duty as chief of the Fredericton Police Force before retiring after a 30-year career.

Filliter adjourned the proceeding until Friday morning.

Holmes remains a member of the Fredericton Police Force but is currently suspended without pay, said police spokesperson Sonya Gilks, in an email.