Demotions to two Sudbury police officers after they admitted to defrauding their workplace's benefit program will cost them a combined $88,981, the Greater Sudbury Police Service has confirmed.
Husband and wife Const. Christopher Labreche and Const. Kathryn Howard were demoted on Dec. 5 following a disciplinary hearing under the Police Services Act.
Both officers billed the police service's insurance company more than $3,000 for medical services they never received.
Labreche was demoted from a First Class Constable to a Fourth Class Constable. The three-year demotion will cost him $68,766 in pay over that time period.
Howard was demoted from a First Class Constable to a Second Class Constable. The one-year demotion will cost her $20,215.
During the Dec. 5 hearing both Labreche and Howard pled guilty to one count of discreditable conduct.
Labreche has also pleaded guilty to criminal fraud in September, which led to a stiffer penalty than the one Howard received.
In 2014 Labreche was charged with assault for pushing a suspect into a window, but those charges were dismissed in 2015.
In an email to Sudbury.com the Greater Sudbury Police Service said “both officers remain in their administrative duties.”
Superintendent Robert Gould, of the Waterloo Regional Police Service, was appointed as the hearing officer during the Dec. 5 disciplinary hearing.
“I have confidence in the systems of accountability and discipline as outlined in the Police Services Act and that these principles were upheld in today’s decision. The Tribunal took in to account all of the complex issues at hand when considering its options," said Greater Sudbury Police Chief Paul Pedersen, in a statement following the hearing.
