Ottawa police officer guilty of threatening woman gets back on the job

Good morning!

It’s nice to be back at the helm of the good ship Lookout. Hope you all were well behaved in my absence. Many thanks again to Geoff for taking over while I took a much-needed vacation.

But now we’re back, and that means plenty of news to catch up on after a pretty gorgeous week. We’ve got some news about a cop back on the force after being convicted of uttering threats in a domestic dispute, a wrapup of Ottawa Race Weekend, and all sorts of events for your week ahead.

Let’s get to it.

— Robert Hiltz, managing editor

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Weather Report

Monday: 25 🌡️ 10 | ☀️

Tuesday: 27 🌡️ 14 | ☀️

Wednesday: 30 🌡️ 16 | ☀️

WEEKLY LOOKOUT

Sens sale: The four potential bidding groups for the Ottawa Senators have met with Anna and Olivia Melnyk, and it’s expected a preferred bidder will be picked by the end of this week. [Ottawa Sun]

Doors open: The annual event, well, opening doors across town is back this weekend. Get a peek inside embassies, religious buildings, museums, galleries, government buildings and more. The city has a map and a list where you can see what’s open. (Most places you can walk in, but there are some locations that require registration in advance.)

POLICING

Ottawa detective back on the force, despite death threat and weapon conviction

What happened: Const. Yourik Brisebois is back at his job after a conviction this spring for uttering death threats and possessing a weapon to commit an offence, the Ottawa Citizen reported. Brisebois was given a conditional discharge, and has been assigned administrative duties.

Consequences: His criminal record will be wiped clean if he abides by conditions set by the court. He had to submit his DNA, and will be on probation for three years and was also fined a victim-surcharge fee of $100.

• Brisebois was on paid suspension since August 2020, when he was first charged. In 2021, he earned $113,600, and had a 12 percent pay bump to $127,044 in 2022, the paper reported.

What he did: Brisebois was charged in a “domestic incident,” where he threatened the life of a woman while possessing a kitchen knife. The officer pleaded not guilty, but was found guilty on both charges in March, according to the Citizen.

Not the first: In 2020, Const. Nermmin Mesic pleaded guilty to two counts of discreditable conduct for threatening to kill a tenant and harm his family for being late with rent, the Citizen reported at the time. Mesic was given an absolute discharge on criminal charges in 2019 after pleading guilty. He was suspended with pay for four-and-a-half years, and eventually demoted for one year, the Citizen reported.

• “I don’t care. I don’t care. Sell your kid. I don’t give a shit. Make your wife do something.… I guarantee you I’m going to spill blood,” Mesic told the tenant. “People for money, they kill right?”

On the job: Last year, Mesic responded to two calls for possible torture of a puppy, but didn’t go far enough into the apartment or interview a neighbour who had called police and had recordings of the torture, the Citizen reported.

• A second set of officers showed up to a later 911 call and arrested a man who pleaded guilty to cruelty to the animal, possessing a sawed-off shotgun, and uttering threats. The puppy died of the beatings it received.

Last year Mesic earned $128,511, according to the Ontario Sunshine List.

OTTAWA BY THE NUMBERS

🏃‍♀️ 27,954: The overall number of participants in Ottawa Race Weekend events, of which 3,178 people ran the full marathon. [CTV]

OTTAWA RACE WEEKEND

96-year-old woman sets 5K world record

What happened: Ninety-six-year-old Rejeanne Fairhead set a world record time for women over 95 in the 5K at Ottawa Race Weekend on Saturday. With a time of 51 minutes and nine seconds, the Ottawa women beat the record held by an American by more than four minutes, CTV reported.

• She was racing to raise money for Perley Health, a long-term care home for veterans and other seniors.

Winners’ circle: Three Ethiopian men dominated the top spots in the men’s marathon Sunday, with Yihunilign Adane winning with a time of two hours, eight minutes, and 22 seconds. Ethiopian Waganesh Mekasha won the women’s race with a time of two hours, 24 minutes and 47 seconds. While Canada’s Malindi Elmore came second with a time of two hours, 27 minutes and four seconds.

It wasn’t great of you were trying to get down to the race by train on Sunday, however…

Mayor’s race: Meanwhile, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe raised $26,060.46 for Ottawa Salus, a supportive housing development which was severely damaged by flooding when a pipe burst in February during the cold snap, CTV reported. He finished the race in three hours, 54 minutes, and six seconds. Ottawa Salus provides housing for adults living with serious mental illness.

• You can still donate to the mayor’s fundraiser here.

NEW LOCAL JOBS

Check out the new open positions in Ottawa.

1. Monitoring and compliance officer/review officer at Global Affairs Canada

2. Directeur/directrice des opérations à Centre médical Ste-Anne

3. Telecommunications operations manager at SSi Canada

4. Talent acquisition specialist at Canadian Medical Protective Association

5. People and culture manager at Ottawa Humane Society

THE AGENDA

📸 Tourism in the city has come back unexpectedly strong this spring, with visiting levels close to the pre-pandemic era. [CTV]

🍂 The city will begin its annual campaign against wild parsnip this week, and will spray herbicides and mow down areas where the invasive plant is growing. [CTV]

🦚 A “cunning” peacock escaped the clutches of OPP officers in Augusta Township who were trying to recapture the loose bird. [CTV]

🗳️ Kingston MPP Ted Hsu launched a campaign for the leadership of the Ontario Liberal Party. [CTV]

🪖 Merrickville was turned into a Second World War Dutch town for a shoot of the upcoming film Scheldt. [CTV]

🐦 Newcomers to the city are helping revitalize pigeon racing clubs in the Ottawa Valley, as membership has dwindled. [CBC]

💊 Health Canada seized unauthorized amoxicillin capsules from Green Fresh Supermarket in Vanier. The antibiotic was being sold over the counter, and the agency said the capsules may pose serious health risks. [CTV]

🚌 Two western Quebec school boards are paying mileage to parents affected by a school bus strike. The bus drivers’ union said the money being used for mileage would go to better use paying drivers. [CBC]

🙀 The Kingston Humane Society will be closed for the week and not accept any surrendered pets, as a recent surge of stray dogs has pushed the overcapacity facility to its limit. [Ottawa Citizen]

⚾️ A Cornwall batting cage has been the victim of arson twice in the last two weeks. [CBC]

🚨 A driver was stopped by the OPP on the 416, and found to have two unbuckled children in the back sleeping on a mattress. [CTV]

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EVENTS

Your guide to the week

Food

🧀 Vegan Cheese Workshop, Monday 7 pm: Learn how to make plant-based cheeses. Almond ricotta, tofu cream cheese, cashew cheddar and more. Eat what you can while you’re there, and take the rest home. A beer is included. At Beyond the Pale, 250 City Centre Ave., Bay 106. Tickets $44.

Kids/Family

🥦 How Does Our Garden Grow, Tuesday 5 pm: Help plant the community garden in the EarlyON play yard. Open to kids aged three to six, and an accompanying adult. At Western Ottawa Community Resource Centre, 2 MacNeil Ct. Free, but registration of each participant is required.

General

🚲 Cyclist Rights Workshop with The Biking Lawyer, Tuesday 5 pm: Getting into a biking accident isn’t ideal, but if things go wrong, there is plenty you should know. What information you should gather, what your rights are and so much more. At the Lieutenant’s Pump, 361 Elgin St. Registration is free.

🪚 Demo Night on Sharpening Woodworking Tools, Tuesday 7 pm: The Ottawa Tool Library is hosting a workshop hosted by Brian Greene of the Ottawa Woodworkers Association on six key strategies for sharpening your woodworking tools. At 877a Boyd Ave. Tickets $14.

Film

📽️ Latin American Film Festival, Mexican short-films, Thursday 6 pm: As part of the Latin American Film Festival, the Mexican embassy is hosting a screening of six short films. At 110 Hazel St. Admission is free.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• People from across town found treasures big and small at this year’s Great Glebe Garage Sale. [Ottawa Citizen]

• Here are some great shots of the detail in the mural honouring firefighters at Richmond and Churchill. [Instagram]

• Race Weekend isn’t all serious running, there are inflatable dinosaurs, too! [Reddit]

• How good was the weather this weekend? Good enough to be out driving this beauty to the grocery store. [Reddit]

• Here’s a nice view of downtown, looking from the west along the Ottawa River. [Reddit]

• Want to have your announcement featured? Contact our partnership team for more info.

TOP PHOTO

Today’s photo comes from Lookout reader Irv Osterer. I’ll let him tell the story: “A colleague from my teaching days at AY Jackson gave me a small patch of Trilliums over 30 years ago. My wife and I look forward to seeing them return every year in our front yard — a sure sign that the winter is finally over. This year's blooms are particularly nice!”

Do you have a photo you’d like to share with the Lookout community? Send it in!

OTTAWA GAMES

Congrats to everyone who got last week’s Ottawa Wordle, the answer was TRASH, because of all the garbage talk in the news.

For this week’s Ottawa Quiz, we want to know how many people ran the full marathon this weekend? The first five people to write in with the correct answer will get their names mentioned in the next issue. Good luck!

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