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A hot-tempered OPP officer has narrowly escaped with her badge after being convicted of assaulting an Orillia woman in 2019.

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OPP Const. Bailey Nicholls was given a suspended sentence in connection with the beatdown, CTV News Barrie reports.

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That break will likely save the combustible constable’s law enforcement career.

In 2019, Nicholls was captured on security video having a violent interaction with a 43-year-old woman who had been arrested for public intoxication. But the young cop grew increasingly frustrated with her charge as she attempted to remove her jewelry.

Nicholls then became physical with the woman, breaking her necklace, grabbing her by the throat, and slamming her head into cell bars. The woman suffered a head injury requiring five staples.

The young cop was convicted last October of assault causing bodily harm. Justice John Olver said Nicholls caught a break because she has a toddler son, otherwise she would have been looking at 30-45 days in the slammer.

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“If there is not a lesson in all of this for you, then maybe you should not be a police officer,” the judge told her, CTV reported.

The jurist also lambasted Nicholls for her misleading and conflicting accounts of the encounter and obstructing the SIU investigation. But he added the surveillance video told the tale of the tape.

Her lawyers claimed that Nicholls acted out of fear.

Instead of jail, Nicholls faces 15 months of probation and has been ordered to take impulse control or anger management counselling, along with complete remedial use-of-force training. In addition, she can’t have contact with the victim, must provide her DNA and perform 150 hours of community service.

Her union plans to appeal the guilty verdict, CTV News reported. The OPPA claims the judge misinterpreted the evidence and Nicholls should be cleared.

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The OPP said in a statement: “We recognize that it can be deeply troubling when a police officer is convicted of or even accused of a criminal offence. The OPP is a very large service, and serious breaches of the law or professional standards by our members are rare. We hold our officers to the highest standards of professionalism and are committed to ensuring that we maintain the public’s trust.”

Now, Nicholls could be facing more woes under the Police Services Act.

Another female OPP officer landed in hot water last October when she allegedly broke into her ex-boyfriend’s Barrie home and battered his new gal pal, leaving the woman in “terror.”

Const. Amanda Farrell was allegedly on duty at the time of the alleged incident. None of the charges have been proven.

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Chantelle Stamcos told CTV News of the September 2022 incident: “It was 15 minutes of terror. It was very scary. She was in full uniform, hand on her weapon most of the time.”

The cop allegedly used the door’s security keypad, entered the house and confronted her ex-beau and his new flame. Farrell reportedly began yelling at Stamcos.

Farrell later claimed that her ex-beau allegedly assaulted her during the time they dated. CTV reported that charges were filed but later dropped.

Farrell was later charged with break-and-enter with intent to commit an indictable offence, two counts of assault, criminal harassment, mischief, and forcible confinement.

Last October, the OPP said in a statement to CTV: “We cannot comment on the matter as it deals with intimate partner violence. As the matter is now before the courts, it would be inappropriate to comment.”

bhunter@postmedia.com

@HunterTOSun

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