A Guelph police officer who assaulted a handcuffed teenager at a hospital in 2016 is once again appealing an order requiring him to resign or be dismissed from the service. Const. Corey McArthur filed a notice of appeal after an adjudicator ordered on July 17 that he resign within seven days or be dismissed from the Guelph Police Service. In the notice of appeal, McArthur argues the penalty of dismissal is “unreasonable, harsh, excessive and disproportionate.” He also alleges the adjudicator failed to properly consider mitigating factors, including his guilty pleas, acknowledgment that the force used was excessive, evidence of remorse and expert evidence related to his post-traumatic stress disorder. His lawyers are asking the commission to overturn the dismissal or, alternatively, reduce the penalty to a demotion with conditions that would allow him to return to policing. The appeal stems from a second penalty hearing into McArthur’s conduct during the 2016 incident at Guelph General Hospital, where video showed him elbowing a 17-year-old who was handcuffed to a stretcher. McArthur later pleaded guilty to criminal assault and one count of discreditable conduct under the former Police Services Act. This is McArthur’s second appeal of a dismissal order, but not of the same decision. In October 2022, McArthur was ordered to resign or be dismissed after that hearing found him guilty of discreditable conduct. McArthur appealed that penalty, and in September 2023 the Ontario Civilian Police Commission allowed the appeal, set aside the dismissal decision and ordered a new penalty hearing before a different hearing officer. That second hearing began in July 2024 and resulted in the recent dismissal. According to Guelph Police, filing the appeal automatically stays the dismissal order while the case proceeds, meaning McArthur continues to be suspended with pay. The latest appeal is being heard by the Ontario Police Arbitration and Adjudication Commission (OPAAC) because the Ontario Civilian Police Commission, which heard McArthur’s first appeal, was dissolved in September 2025 after the Community Safety and Policing Act replaced the former Police Services Act. Former Special Investigations Unit director Ian Scott said McArthur has the legal right to appeal the latest decision because it followed a new penalty hearing that essentially erased the original decision. “Can there be a second appeal? The answer is yes. He has a right to that appeal,” Scott told CTV News. Scott said the commission could theoretically order another hearing, but believes that is unlikely. “This matter has been litigated, re-litigated, re-litigated. It’s time to close it,” he said, adding that if another hearing is denied, there is nothing else to appeal in this case. “Theoretically, they could send it back again. I would be extremely surprised if they were to do that again because they should be well aware of the history.” In the meantime, McArthur remains suspended with pay, a status he has held since 2016. Scott questioned the length of the disciplinary process and said the ongoing proceedings continue to come at a cost to taxpayers. “The second hearing – there was an adjournment of one year in the middle of the hearing. It went from July 2024 to July 2025 in the middle of the hearing. That to me is unprecedented,” said Scott. Guelph Police said OPAAC has confirmed it received McArthur’s appeal and is now appointing the panel that will decide next steps.
