THUNDER BAY - A senior Anishinabek Police Service officer has pleaded guilty to firearm-related charges for pointing his police-issued sidearm at fellow officers on numerous occasions while on the job.
Staff Sgt. Tony Hanson appeared via video in the restorative justice courtroom before Justice David Gibson, where he pleaded guilty to one count of careless use of a firearm and one count of pointing a firearm.
The court heard there were nine separate incidents where Hanson pointed his police-issued sidearm, a Glock 9 mm pistol, at fellow officers inside the Pic River Anishinabek Police Service detachment in Biigtigong Nishnaabeg First Nation near Marathon between October 2020 and April 2022.
Several incidents were described as Hanson drawing his sidearm and shining the attached flashlight on fellow officers.
In one incident, an officer said Hanson pointed his sidearm at him and asked him how fast he could ‘draw.’
According to the agreed statement of facts, two officers believed Hanson pointing his sidearm at them was done so in a joking manner -- though the officers expressed fear of bodily harm or death during the incidents.
However, one other officer, who said Hanson did not want to be his coaching officer, described one incident where Hanson pointed his sidearm at his head without saying anything or having any expression.
The officer believed these actions were not done as a joke but rather as a means of hazing or intimidation.
Hanson was charged in June 2023 following an investigation by the Ontario Provincial Police. The officers said they did not report the incidents at the time because of Hanson’s position within the APS and fear of reprisals.
In the agreed statement of facts, the officers said they believed the firearm was loaded because the incidents happened while Hanson was in full uniform, although the Crown noted it cannot prove beyond a reasonable doubt that was the case.
A pre-sentence and Gladue report was ordered. The matter will return in July for sentencing.
