The fallout from a couple of arrests involving two drinkers and four officers outside the Outpost Bar and Grill a couple of years ago has moved a little closer to completion.

Constable Peter Curtis, one of the four, had pleaded guilty to three counts of neglect of duty and one of discreditable conduct under the Police Service Act, and Monday a hearing officer ordered that he forfeit 12 days off as penalty.

Earlier, Const. Aaron Grabowski was sentenced to a loss of two days' pay for his involvement.

Sergeant Doug Fry's involvement in the incident will be addressed on October 6.

Const. Theresa Knorz will not be penalized as she resigned from the force last summer to join another.

All the officers remained on duty throughout the investigation.

The charges stemmed from separate incidents on October 30, 2004 and this past June 29.

In the October incident, officers arrested two men at the Outpost who'd been drinking heavily.

One of the drinkers, who was exposing himself, was being ejected from the bar by bouncers.

He was arrested for public intoxication and placed in a police car in the bar's parking lot where Const. Curtis and other officers were present.

A witness referred to as "M.L." approached Const. Curtis to voice his opinion about what he'd observed. They scuffled, and M.L. was arrested and placed in the rear of another police vehicle and taken to the police station while Const. Curtis dealt with the other man.

M.L. wondered why he was being arrested.

Const. Curtis responded, over the radio, to the effect that he was "trying to decide whether it's plain obstruction or public intox," according to an agreed statement of fact.

But M.L. was never charged, and was soon back on the street.

Once released, he and his friend R.L. returned to the bar to pick up M.L.'s vehicle, and the two drove across the street to a pay phone, which is where Const. Curtis again came upon them.

During the subsequent encounter, M.L. shouted at Curtis and put his hands on the cruiser's hood.

The officer told R.L. to get his friend "off my [expletive] cruiser and go home."

When M.L. put his hand out toward Curtis, the officer refused to shake it, ordered him to return to his car, and followed him out of town.

Const. Curtis ran afoul of procedure because he failed to make notes about the arrest or file an arrest report.

When he'd heard details of the arrest, Police Chief Rod Freeman ordered an investigation, which was conducted by the Professional Standards Branch of the Toronto Police.

Terence Kelly, retired deputy chief of York Regional Police, was named hearing officer.

In the incident this past June, Const. Curtis arrested a 17-year-old for public intoxication around 2:45 a.m.

After arriving at the police station he placed the teenager in an interview room and

failed to advise anyone else, while he left the station to assist another officer with a foot pursuit. The teen then left the room and approached female communications staff.

Chief Freeman said in a phone interview that the purpose of the tribunal was to address some poor judgments made almost two years ago.

"Our police service has committed to being accountable to our community," he said.

"This was an exercise in fulfilling that commitment in a fair, open and transparent process and I think we accomplished that on all counts. It hasn't been pleasant but it's an exercise we had to go through."

The fact that Const. Curtis pleaded guilty to all charges, acknowledged his misconduct, expressed his desire to rebuild his reputation, and had an otherwise good record, weighed heavily in his favour.

"It has always been the position of this trier-of-fact that when a police officer falls afoul of the Police Services Act he is entitled to fall back on his record of service and, in this case, Const. Curtis has an excellent service record spanning some 13 years, with no misdemeanors," Mr. Kelly said in passing judgment. "This alone would have me lean towards a less severe penalty than I otherwise would consider when dealing with an officer under similar circumstances."

"However," he said, "for the record, I wish to make it very clear that my consideration in arriving at a fair and reasonable disposition in this matter is directed at an appreciation of the seriousness of the actions that actually took place, and also consideration of the values of this police service and a statement to the community at large of their commitment to these values."

Mr. Kelly encouraged Const. Curtis to use the experience to educate other officers so they may avoid similar embarrassment.

"The reputation and credibility of this police service are my number one priority, and I fully intend to protect both," said Chief Freeman.