A Chatham-Kent police sergeant who pleaded guilty to 50 counts of discreditable conduct is still on the service's payroll.
Sergeant Robert Mugridge can continue to collect a cheque from the local police service until he's formally dismissed.
The prosecution and defence made a joint submission Tuesday afternoon to have him dismissed, and while that is expected to happen sometime in the near future, there's no timeline for when the final ruling will come down.
Chatham-Kent Police Chief Gary Conn says he's "not pleased" with the fact that Mugridge is still on the payroll, but admits, even as the police chief, his hands are tied by the Police Services Act.
He says chiefs do have the power to suspend an officer without pay, but only "if the party involved is sentenced to a period of incarceration."
In June 2014, the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police (OACP) passed a "Resolution" calling on the provincial government to change that, and to give chiefs of police/OPP commissioner the ability to suspend without pay in specific situations -- but that hasn't happened yet.
A statement on the OACP's website says suspension without pay is "a tool available to chiefs everywhere in Canada except Ontario."
Conn says provincial officials are currently revisiting the Police Services Act and he's still hopeful they will make that revision.
"We certainly hope that [the provincial government] will entertain expanding that possibility of allowing chiefs to suspend without pay for those serious offences where we would be seeking termination," says Conn.
Mugridge has been suspended with pay since 2014, but Conn says this case appears to be wrapping up quicker than most.
"If you take a look historically and traditionally, these types of cases usually go from five to seven years," says Conn. "We want to deal with the cases as expeditiously as possible and I think we've done that."
Conn says he believes the hearing helps to ensure public trust while also moving towards holding Mugridge accountable for his actions.
"I hope it gets us that much closer to providing some closure for our service and the approximately 44 victims that were involved in this matter," says Conn.
Mugridge is still facing more than 50 criminal charges of fraud.
