Editor’s note: The following article contains strong language used in a formal complaint against police that may be unsuitable for some readers.
A Toronto resident has filed complaints of animal cruelty, abuse of power, and police misconduct in regard to an incident this past summer along the Barrie Marina boardwalk.
In a statement to the Law Enforcement Complaints Agency (LECA), filed Nov. 20 and supplied to BarrieToday, an affiliate of BradfordToday and InnisfilToday, Christine Delormier accuses Barrie police officer Bailey McDonald of sexual assault, followed by the use of a stun gun and the “intentional near-drowning” of her dog.
None of the allegations have been proven and the file remains before LECA.
“The original matter is currently before the courts and it would not be appropriate for the (Barrie Police Service) to make any comment with regards to this or anything that pertains or may pertain to that investigation,” said Peter Leon, communications coordinator for the police department.
LECA, formerly known as the Office of the Independent Police Review Director, is a provincial agency responsible for overseeing public complaints about alleged misconduct involving municipal, regional and provincial police officers.
As reported by BarrieToday at the time, an incident occurred along the boardwalk at the city marina at around 9 p.m. on Sunday, July 14, which saw a woman arrested, a dog zapped with a stun gun and a bystander briefly detained after reportedly trying to rescue the canine, which had fallen into the water after being Tasered.
According to city police, officers were following up on an earlier call about an alleged theft that had taken place.
Police said they located Delormier near the Barrie Marina and her three dogs were off leash. As she was being taken into custody, police say the dogs turned on the three officers. One dog became “very aggressive and attacked the officers and began biting them.”
A conducted energy weapon, or stun gun, was used on the aggressive dog, according to police.
Delormier claims the incident began earlier at the Busby Centre on Mulcaster Street, where she and her three dogs were waiting for a rental vehicle to arrive, as her own vehicle was parked and experiencing mechanical issues.
She alleges the officer berated her and told her to leave.
“At this point, officer McDonald escalated the situation by forcefully grabbing me by the back of my dress, which caused my dress to shift and expose my chest in front of several witnesses,” Delormier alleges in her complaint.
“I felt humiliated and violated by this inappropriate and excessive use of force, especially given that I was following all instructions and did not pose any threat. In response to this unprovoked action, I reacted by yelling, ‘F— off, you pig pervert,’ as I was visibly shaken and humiliated by his behaviour,” Delormier added.
Later that day, at the Barrie Marina, in what Delormier describes as a miscommunication with the towing company, which resulted in a police complaint of theft against her involving a phone, police arrived.
At that moment, she claims she noticed police officers “rapidly” approaching her.
“I saw officer McDonald running toward me with his gun drawn, flanked by other officers, all shouting at me to ‘get on the ground,’” she wrote in the complaint.
Delormier alleges that, without warning, McDonald took out his stun gun and “began electrocuting Jazz,” which is one of her dogs.
“She fell to the ground, convulsing, as he continued to shock her despite my desperate screams … I reached forward to pull the electrocution wires from her body, finding her limp and still, lifeless. At this point, officer McDonald ordered a younger officer to cuff me, and as I pleaded, ‘Please don’t kill my dog,’ he continued to electrocute her.”
Delormier claims that, in desperation, she broke her thumb slipping out of the handcuffs and removed the wires from her dog’s body.
While trying to shield her dog with her body, she alleges the officer “slammed the bottom of the Taser into my head, causing a huge gash.”
Delormier alleges McDonald instructed other officers to restrain her again, while continuing to electrocute her dog, even though it was unresponsive.
She says several bystanders had started to gather, with some recording the incident on their cellphones.
“As I knelt, handcuffed and in tears, beside Jazz’s motionless body, officer McDonald delivered a final, brutal kick, sending her into the water,” Delormier says in her claim.
She said the dog then regained consciousness and started to swim; though weak and disoriented, it kept going under the surface.
“I screamed for someone to help, but the officers, including two who stood at the water’s edge, ignored my pleas and just stood there,” Delormier alleges.
She claims two bystanders attempted to assist, but McDonald warned them, saying, “Touch that dog and you’re going to jail.”
Delormier says a man in the crowd nodded at her, removed his watch, keys and wallet, and handed them to his girlfriend, took his shirt off, jumped in the water and and helped her dog.
“Officer McDonald was furious and arrested him,” she alleges.
When a BarrieToday reporter arrived on scene, Delormier could be seen in distress while being detained by police. A man was also observed sitting on the ground in handcuffs. The cuffed man was complaining to officers about being arrested; he said he was trying to save the dog from drowning.
Delormier claims the tow company owner also arrived at the scene and explained to police that there had been a misunderstanding and that no theft had occurred.
“Still, the officers ignored his statement,” she wrote in her complaint. “I remained handcuffed in the police vehicle, with cuts on my wrists and blood dripping down my face.”
Delormier claims paramedics at the scene “later informed me that officer McDonald had instructed the two younger officers to claim that Jazz had bitten them, but there (were) no bite marks.”
As part of her official complaint, Delormier says the incident “embodies the very definition of animal cruelty: intentional, calculated harm inflicted on a defenceless being.
“The trauma caused to my dog, Jazz, was avoidable and actively perpetuated by an officer sworn to uphold public safety. Such acts severely violate ethical standards and community trust, and they demand accountability,” she alleges.
Delormier's next court appearance on the criminal charges is scheduled for Jan. 20.
The video below was submitted to BarrieToday by bystanders shortly after the incident occurred.
