Greater Sudbury Police officer Melisa Rancourt will have to wait more than a month for the rest of her trial, as significant delays brought by other matters in Espanola court saw the trial adjourned to Oct. 28.
The GSPS constable has pleaded not guilty to charges of uttering threats at a 12-year-old hockey player and causing a disturbance after a February U-13 hockey game in Espanola. Rancourt coached the opposing team in the game.
Following testimony from Sean Cassidy, a senior official at the game, and the 12-year old player who testified he had an interaction with Rancourt, two additional Crown witnesses have now testified. One of them is a parent of a player on the team opposing Espanola, and the other a member of the Ontario Provincial Police who was off duty at the time.
On Sept. 17, Cassidy, a referee for approximately three years, spoke of the game as an unusually tense one, especially for the age of the players, who were all under 13.
He also spoke of Rancourt’s demeanor throughout the game as her team eventually lost, only amplified, he said, after a player from the opposing team blew a kiss at Espanola’s bench as he skated past after scoring.
He described Rancourt as “seething” and spoke of her yelling and kicking the boards.
Cassidy was specific that there were no physical altercations, but after the game ended, he decided to escort each team off the ice separately to avoid conflict.
It was in the hallway that led to the Espanola Recreation Centre dressing rooms that the interaction between Rancourt, and the now 13-year-old who testified in court on Sept. 17 took place.
Though he admits to exaggerating details of the event, saying that he was scared, he admitted after he saw security video of the event in question that Rancourt did not make physical contact with him.
The assault charge against her was dropped July 15.
The witness, who was 12 at the time the incident occurred, testified that he had a conversation with Rancourt which she initiated. The video, which has no audio, shows Rancourt walking out of frame before returning and pointing at the witness. She appears to be speaking.
The witness testified that Rancourt, who was the coach of the opposing team, told him and his teammate, “if you guys ever do that celebration again, I'll make sure you guys never skate’. And then I said, ‘how?’ And she said, ‘I'll break your ankles’.”
Asked about her behaviour on and off the ice that day, the witness described it as “unsportsmanlike.”
In court Wednesday, Sept. 18, the off-duty OPP officer, Josh Bronicheski, testified he was off-duty attending his child’s game (not the one in question) and helping in the dressing room when he said he heard “a familiar voice.”
“A female voice, sounded familiar to me, said something along the lines of, ‘tell your players when they skate by the bench…’ and then I heard other voices talking,” he said.
He identified the familiar voice as Rancourt’s.
Bronicheski said another female voice said, “this isn't your dressing room. Get out of here,” which was drowned out by more voices from further down the hallway.
The court then heard from Rebecca Mynerich, a parent of a player on the team opposing Espanola. She witnessed an interaction between Rancourt and the mother of another player, also from the team opposing Espanola.
Mynerich described it as a “little bit of a heated game,” with tension between the players. “It was a little rougher than we normally play,” she said.
She said she recalled playing the Espanola team the previous year for the same reason, the intensity of the play.
Mynerich testified she walked into the hallway after the game, and heard an interaction between a parent on her team and Rancourt, the Espanola coach. Mynerich said the player's mother told Rancourt to “watch her mouth.”
“She said: ‘they're barely 12-year-old kids’.”
Mynerich testified she heard Rancourt reply: “this is your last warning. You keep your kids away from our bench.”
Mynerich also testified she saw Rancourt “blow a kiss” but could not tell in which direction.
The Crown will continue its case on Oct. 28.
Second round of charges for causing a disturbance
While Rancourt was charged with this offense in February, it is not her first appearance as a defendant in criminal court.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, Rancourt was charged for causing a disturbance at another hockey game, also at the Espanola Rec Centre.
In September 2021, she was charged with resisting a peace officer and two counts of entering a premises when entry has been prohibited, contrary to the Trespass to Property Act (TPA).
Rancourt and her wife refused to provide proof of vaccination to attend their child’s hockey game at the Espanola Recreation Centre, and witnesses told Sudbury.com Rancourt screamed, called bystanders “nazis,” and kicked a door while arguing with an OPP officer called by rec centre staff.
Those criminal charges were withdrawn after Rancourt completed the John Howard Society’s Direct Accountability program.
In October 2022, Rancourt faced a disciplinary hearing, which determined she should be demoted from first-class constable to third-class constable for a period of one year, followed by one year in the rank of second-class constable, conditional on satisfactory performance of duty by the officer.
She would also be required to perform 40 hours of volunteer work through the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre for Holocaust Studies to better understand her use of the word “nazi.”
Rancourt will also face a disciplinary hearing for these charges, with next steps taking place Sept. 25.
Jenny Lamothe covers court for Sudbury.com.