TIMELINE: Corey McArthur’s troubled past with the Guelph Police Service

CTV’s Krista Simpson looks back McArthur’s career and what happened before he pled guilty to assault in 2018.

Const. Corey McArthur spent the last decade fighting to stay with the Guelph Police Service following a 2016 incident where he physically assaulted a teen.

It was, however, not the first time his professional behaviour was questioned.

December 2001: Const. Corey McArthur joins the Guelph Police Service.

May 2002: McArthur filed a WSIB claim after being struck in the face.

August 2002: McArthur is struck by a man resisting arrest.

November 2008: McArthur is charged with assault after he makes an arrest for public intoxication outside a Guelph bar.

During a follow-up visit, the doctor noted McArthur was angry and short-tempered all the time, but he was returning to work. The report said he had stopped going to counselling as he felt it wasn’t doing much. The doctor prescribed an anti-depressant and wrote, “He loves his work but hates the politics.” McArthur also told his doctor he felt he had been unfairly singled out and believed police were trying to force him to quit.

2009: McArthur sees his family doctor for extreme stress and difficulty concentrating. His doctor wrote, “There is no question that the majority of his stress is job-related.”

2010: A judge finds McArthur guilty of assault. The judge gave McArthur an absolute discharge, which meant the charge would not appear on his criminal record. During the proceedings, he was reassigned to administrative duties with the police service.

At a police service hearing, McArthur pleaded guilty to discreditable conduct. He was reprimanded and required to work 80 hours of additional shifts.

2013: McArthur is accused of using excessive force. The Guelph Police Service launched an investigation and ultimately deemed it an “unsubstantiated” complaint. Later that year, he was charged with assault causing bodily harm. That charged was later withdrawn.

September 2016: A 17-year-old was acting erratically after using crystal meth and threatened to harm himself. While handcuffed to a bed at Guelph General Hospital, the teen kneed Corey McArthur in his chest or stomach.

In response, McArthur elbowed the teen causing or aggravating an injury. The teen had a 3.5 centimetre cut under his eye, bruising and swelling. The laceration required stitches.

The incident was captured on surveillance video inside the hospital.

October 2016: McArthur goes on leave and receives Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB) benefits for two years.

The constable was initially charged with assault causing bodily harm but ultimately pleaded guilty to a lesser charge.

According to the Ontario Sunshine List, McArthur’s salary in 2016 was $101,804.

Sept. 27, 2018: McArthur pleaded guilty to a criminal assault charge. He is given a conditional discharge with three years maximum probation and 240 hours of community service.

The judge agreed that an undiagnosed post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) played a role in McArthur’s actions, causing him to overact and use excessive force. In 2013, Guelph Police Const. Jennifer Kovach was killed on the way to McArthur’s call for backup. The icy road conditions caused a collision between Kovach’s car and a Guelph bus. Another factor in the judge’s decision was McArthur’s decision to seek treatment during his two-year absence from the police force.

He also noted that there were “similarities between the 2008 and 2016 incidents. Both involved acts of violence and he was ‘amped up’ both times.”

Following the sentencing, Guelph Police served McArthur with a notice of suspension pending the outcome of the hearing. As stipulated under the Police Services Act, he was suspended with pay.

2019: McArthur’s salary, according to the Ontario Sunshine List, is $106,436.

2020: The Ontario Sunshine List records McArthur’s salary as $114,756, an increase of 7.8 per cent from the year before.

2021: McArthur’s salary on the Ontario Sunshine List is reported as $110,689. That was a 3.5 per cent decrease from 2020.

October 2022: A police service hearing is held to determine if McArthur will be reprimanded or dismissed from the Guelph Police Service.

Testimony revealed supervisors spoke to McArthur in 2007 about excessive use of force after a “number” of complaints.

McArthur is told he must resign from the force within seven days or risk being fired.

At this point, he had been suspended with pay since 2016.

November 2022: McArthur files an appeal to the Ontario Civilian Police Commission (OCPC) before the seven-day deadline has elapsed. He argued he should be demoted instead of dismissed. The OCPC can confirm or revoke a decision made during a police service hearing, substitute its own decision or order a new hearing.

McArthur’s appeal was successful. The OCPC determined that, among other things, the hearing officer did not give enough consideration to McArthur’s PTSD.

Trial costs and Corey McArthur’s salary have cost taxpayers at least $644,570 since his suspension in 2016. The total included prosecution and expert fees, facilities and court reporting fees and hearing officer fees.

According to the Ontario Sunshine List, McArthur’s salary increased by 5.2 per cent to $116,484.

2023: The Ontario Sunshine List showed McArthur’s salary as $115,292.

July 24, 2024: McArthur pleaded guilty to discreditable conduct for a second time and another penalty hearing was held. His lawyer said McArthur had gone through extensive counselling and was able to continue working as a police officer.

McArthur’s salary is listed as $115,489 on the Ontario Sunshine List.

July 24, 2025: The second penalty hearing continues. The Guelph Police Service said they are seeking to dismiss McArthur for the 2016 incident at Guelph General Hospital.

Sept. 9, 2025: McArthur’s second penalty hearing was scheduled to resume on Sept. 10, 2025, but was abruptly cancelled the day before due to an ‘unforeseen emergency.’

Sept. 19, 2025: McArthur’s second penalty hearing resumes. A forensic psychiatrist, Dr. Peter Collins, was not allowed to assess McArthur but reviewed the documentation for the case. He told the hearing there is evidence to suggest McArthur had a pattern of anger, sometimes crossing into aggression. In particular, he noted that in 2011, McArthur’s family doctor prescribed him medication called Pristiq, which can be used for anger issues.

“[McArthur’s] aggressive response was more consistent with his assaultive behaviour in the past,” Collins said.

He also described McArthur’s response to being kneed as ‘over the top.’

“The youth was in crisis and was not threatening anyone, was not a risk to being violent to anybody else except to himself, and there was anger that was over the top.”

Collins also noted there is no objective test for post-traumatic stress disorder.

“PTSD is easy to exaggerate, especially if there is a gain for exaggerating it,” he said.

McArthur remains suspended with pay.

Nov. 13, 2025: Dr. Collins told the hearing there was evidence showing McArthur had a pattern of anger that sometimes crossed over into aggression. Lawyers also questioned Collins about his understanding of PTSD. The doctor called it “one of the most exaggerated illnesses we see in psychiatry” and said, “there’s not a connection between violence and PTSD.”

Nov. 14, 2025: The disciplinary hearing heard more about McArthur’s history with the Guelph Police Service, as well as visits to his family doctor, who noted McArthur was “angry and short-tempered all the time.” The report also said McArthur had decided to stop going to counselling as he felt it wasn’t doing very much to help him. The doctor then prescribed an anti-depressant and wrote, “He loves his work but hates the politics.” McArthur also told his doctor he felt he had been unfairly singled out and believed police were trying to force him to quit.

Dr. Collins cited the similarities between McArthur’s 2008 charge for assault and the hospital incident in 2016.

“They were both incidents where inappropriate, aggressive, angry, assaultive behaviour were displayed,” Collins explained.

The incident in 2008 went to trial, but the hearing noted there were no reports of PTSD symptoms at that time.

McArthur’s lawyer presented McArthur’s performance reviews which described him as a leader, calm, level-headed, professional and reliable. There were two entries regarding use of force which McArthur’s characterized as “brief supervisory coaching comments” amid the otherwise positive reviews.

Collins also touched on the 2016 attack. He described McArthur’s elbow strike on the teen as “goal-directed behaviour.”

“He had a short fuse, he reacted,” he stated, noting McArthur described his own actions that day as reactive.

Nov. 24, 2025: Dr. Collins was questioned again about his report.

“I have never disputed the diagnosis with PTSD,” he said. “What I have disputed is the actions in the Guelph hospital room were caused by PTSD.”

Collins also refuted any assertion that McArthur’s actions were related to grief.

“There was no threat,” he insisted. “There was a person who needed to be repositioned on a gurney… I don’t see this as a trauma response. This was an angry response.”

April 21, 2026: Closing submissions begin with McArthur’s lawyer arguing he should be allowed to return to his job.

“Constable McArthur is of further value to the police service and the community in general,” Madeleine Ross said.

McArthur’s 2025 salary is listed as $131,944.07 on the Ontario Sunshine List.

April 22, 2026: Lawyer Jessica Barrow presented closing submissions for the Guelph Police Service and described McArthur’s actions as “egregious.”

She argued the 2016 assault from an on-duty police officer was a fundamental breach of public trust.

“Can the community tolerate and trust the return of this individual to policing?”

McArthur’s credibility, Barrow added, was irreparably damaged and his continued employment with the Guelph Police Service was untenable.

April 23, 2026: McArthur’s fate is in the hands of the hearing officer who will review all the evidence and submissions.

A decision is expected in July.

July 17, 2026: The Guelph Police Service has been given the go-ahead to dismiss Corey McArthur, unless he decides to resign within the next seven days.

The decision marked the end of McArthur’s 10-year battle to keep his job.