Constable Corey McArthur of the Guelph Police Service has been ordered to resign within seven days or face dismissal, following a disciplinary hearing that wrapped up on July 17, 2026. The decision, handed down by Hearing Officer Superintendent (Retired) M.P.B. Elbers, comes after a decade-long process tied to a 2016 assault at Guelph General Hospital.
The incident dates back to September 19, 2016, when McArthur struck a 17-year-old boy who was handcuffed to a hospital bed. The teenager, who had been taken to the hospital under the Mental Health Act, suffered a 3.5-centimetre cut under his eye that needed stitches, along with bruising and other injuries. McArthur told hospital staff the wounds were self-inflicted, but security video later showed what really happened. He never filed an occurrence report or made notes about the event.
McArthur, who joined the service in 2001, was suspended with pay in December 2016. In 2018, he pleaded guilty to criminal charges and received a conditional discharge. He later admitted to discreditable conduct under the Police Services Act. A first penalty hearing in 2022 also ordered his dismissal, but the ruling was overturned on appeal and a new hearing was held.
During the latest hearing, McArthur’s lawyers argued that he should be demoted and allowed to return to work, pointing to a PTSD diagnosis linked to the 2013 death of his partner, Constable Jennifer Kovach. But the Hearing Officer rejected that, saying no clear connection was made between the PTSD and the hospital assault. The decision says McArthur betrayed the trust of the community, his colleagues, and the police service.
This is not McArthur’s first use-of-force issue. He was convicted in 2010 of criminal assault for a 2008 incident during an arrest in downtown Guelph, receiving an absolute discharge and losing 10 days’ pay. The full decision from the July 2026 hearing was released publicly on July 20. McArthur has until July 24 to resign, or he will be formally dismissed.
