A suspended Sarnia police officer facing 11 criminal charges in his hometown area is also facing an additional charge in nearby London, court records show.
A suspended Sarnia police officer facing 11 criminal charges in his hometown area is also facing an additional charge in nearby London, court records show.
Jeremy Wilde, a 45-year-old first-class constable who joined the Sarnia force in 2017, was arrested three times by provincial police between August 2021 and last month and charged with nine counts of assault, along with single counts of uttering a death threat and mischief. The assault charges allegedly are linked to two women, at least one a former spouse.
But a document obtained this week from the London courthouse shows Wilde was also arrested by London police on March 18 and charged with allegedly uttering a death threat there in November 2021. That threat was allegedly said about a male complainant to a female complainant, who appears to be the daughter of one of the women he’s been charged with allegedly assaulting.
The then-Camlachie resident was released on an undertaking with London police four days later, which bans him from contacting the male or female complainants. He’d previously been banned from contacting the two women he’s charged with assaulting.
Wilde, who has lived in Sarnia and various Lambton County communities over the past two years, was charged with assault, assault causing bodily harm and mischief worth less than $5,000 in May 2021 in St. Clair Township. He’s also been charged with assault in Northern Bruce Peninsula, near Owen Sound, Ont., in June 2021. Those charges are all linked to the same female complainant, but the documents do not indicate how the woman is connected to Wilde.
The court documents do confirm the next five charges, which surfaced when he was arrested again this past April, are connected to alleged intimate-partner violence. A fifth charge is linked to an allegation of uttering a death threat via text. They took place in St. Clair Township or Plympton-Wyoming.
Wilde was mostly recently arrested last month and charged with another count of assault and mischief worth less than $5,000, this time linked to a pair of male complainants. Wilde was held in custody for one night in December before being released on $1,000 bail to a surety, his sister.
COMMENTS FROM THE CHIEF
After learning of the charges in December, The Observer asked Sarnia police for comment. A spokesperson responded with a brief news release that was issued to various local media outlets stating Lambton OPP advised them of an off-duty incident involving one of their officers, Const. Wilde, and that he was suspended. Lambton OPP later announced the charges in a separate brief news release.
But with some charges dating back to August 2021, The Observer asked Sarnia police if Wilde had been suspended prior to December. Chief Derek Davis confirmed Wilde has not been in the workplace since August 2021 and the new chief has ordered he be placed on paid administrative suspension under the Police Services Act amid an investigation.
He’s still being paid – Wilde earned more than $107,000 in 2021, according to sunshineliststats.com – as police chiefs in Ontario are not permitted to suspend officers without pay until after they are convicted.
With the internal investigation underway, Davis said Sarnia police can’t legally comment on the case.
“I understand the public frustration and perception when we are unable to release all details. As an employer and police organization, we need to exercise caution,” he said via email to The Observer.
Davis pointed out he was only sworn in as Sarnia’s chief in May, but he added he is committed to addressing internal and external complaints through available legal processes and appropriate resolutions.
“It is deeply concerning when any police officers are involved in situations that can negatively impact the public trust. The officers of the Sarnia police share this concern, as they continue to serve the public every hour of every day, often in difficult and challenging circumstances,” he wrote.
Wilde is the fourth Sarnia police officer to face criminal charges since 2020. Charges were tossed out against two of them, but one was convicted of breach of trust and eventually voluntarily resigned.