Ottawa police Const. Yourik Brisebois returns to force after guilty verdict, conditional discharge

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An Ottawa police detective has returned to the force after he was found guilty of two criminal charges related to a 2020 domestic incident.

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Const. Yourik Brisebois, 42, a detective with the Ottawa Police Service’s child exploitation unit, was found guilty in March of uttering death threats to a woman and possessing a weapon — a kitchen knife — for the purpose of committing an offence, according to court records.

A judge then granted Brisebois a conditional discharge, meaning he will serve no jail time and will have no criminal record if he abides by conditions imposed in a sentencing decision earlier this month from Ontario Court Justice Janet O’Brien.

Crown Attorney Peter Napier led the prosecution and Brisebois was represented at trial by veteran criminal defence lawyer Sean May.

O’Brien was assigned as an out-of-town judge, a customary precaution to avoid any “apprehension of bias” with local judges presiding over cases that involve Ottawa police officers.

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Brisebois had been under paid suspension since August, 2020, when charges were initially laid.

The charges stem from a “domestic incident,” Ottawa police stated at the time.

According to his court record, Brisebois was charged on Aug. 5, 2020 with “knowingly uttering a threat to cause death to (the woman) in an incident on July 24, 2020. He was also charged with possessing a weapon in the same incident.

The victim’s name is protected by a customary publication ban and she does not have the same surname as Brisebois.

Brisebois pleaded not guilty at trial. He was found guilty on both counts on March 23, according to court records.

He was granted the conditional discharge on May 4 and must serve three years’ probation, according to the sentencing record. He was ordered to submit his DNA to a national databank and was given 60 days to pay a victim surcharge fine of $100.

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Ottawa police said in 2020 the incident was also subject to an internal review by the professional standards section, the unit that investigates officer misconduct,.

Brisebois had no previous history of discipline.

The officer received two public letters of commendation in 2010. One, for being part of a team of officers who responded to help the Ontario Provincial Police with a home invasion and child abduction, and the other, from the parent of a young driver involved in a collision who commended him for the way he treated their daughter.

Brisebois was recruited in the class of 2009, according to City of Ottawa archived records.

He earned $113,600 in 2021, the first full year of his suspension, according to the so-called Sunshine List of public salary disclosure.

In 2022, he earned a raise of nearly 12 per cent to $127, 044, according to the most recent salary disclosure list.

-with Postmedia Staff files

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