A Toronto-area police officer who was charged after his gun was stolen 11 weeks ago in London will avoid having a criminal record and has returned to active duty.
Kevin James Clayton, 34, of Woodbridge was charged with storing a firearm contrary to regulations on May 13 after London police responded to a report of an overnight theft from his vehicle at an Exeter Road hotel. Investigators determined a gun – later recovered in an unrelated investigation – and other items were taken from the vehicle, London police said.
Clayton pleaded guilty on June 21 and was given one year probation and fined $100 as part of a three-year conditional sentence, a judgment that means the conviction will be deleted from Canada’s criminal-record system after three years.
The case moved through the court system in less than a week.
After his arrest, Clayton was released on an undertaking – a document created by either a court or police that places the charged person under certain conditions – and made his first court appearance on June 17, just four days before his guilty plea and sentencing.
The fast-moving case happened the same month London police constable Darryl Horan, 35, pleaded guilty to impaired driving and was given 18 months probation and a one-year driving ban. Charges of obstruction of justice and dangerous driving against him were withdrawn.
Horan, who has been a police officer for 12 years, entered his guilty plea and was sentenced on June 17, less than two weeks after his first court appearance.
Nick Cake, a criminal defence lawyer who isn’t connected to either of the officers’ cases, said it’s not unheard of for criminal cases to be resolved so quickly.
“If their counsel asked for the disclosure, and the disclosure was prepared, I think that ultimately you can be in a position by the first appearance to . . . arrange a plea date and get it done,” he said, referring to the package documents related to a criminal case collected by the Crown attorney and police.
“If you client is motivated to resolve, then as counsel, your duty is to further that resolution as quickly and efficiently as you can.”
It would be in the best interest of a police officer to resolve a criminal case as quickly as possible, said Cake, who has represented police officers facing criminal charges in the past.
“Because there’s going to be corresponding (professional misconduct) charges and you want to do everything to show you’re remorseful and you took responsibility for things,” he said.
Clayton was placed on administrative duties after he was charged and is now the subject of an internal police investigation to determine what charges he’ll face under the Community Safety and Policing Act, legislation that came into effect April 1, replacing the 34-year-old Police Services Act.
“Peel Regional Police Professional Standards is aware of Constable Clayton’s criminal disposition. Professional Standards is in the process of reviewing the matter and is conducting a disciplinary investigation . . . Clayton is currently on active duty,” Peel Regional police spokesperson Mandeep Khatra said in an email.
The Peel Regional Police Association, the union representing for force’s officers and civilian staffers, didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment Monday.