York police chief 'disappointed' in officer charged with fraud
Constable made more than $100K a year, according to Sunshine List

YorkRegion.com
March 6, 2014
By Jeremy Grimaldi

Extremely disappointing.

That's how York Regional police Chief Eric Jolliffe described five fraud charges laid against one of his own officers.

He was speaking in regards to Const. Eric MacDonald, 40, of Barrie, who was charged following an internal investigation looking into the alleged misuse of the force's insurance benefits.

Since June of last year, the force's professional standards bureau has been investigating two separate complaints from York police's benefits provider.

Const. MacDonald, a member of the force since 1999, was suspended with pay in August, pending the outcome of the investigation.

“It is extremely disappointing, both for the command staff and the dedicated frontline officers and staff working diligently every day when an officer within our organization has been charged,” Chief Jolliffe said.

“We must now allow the case to make its way through the justice system." According to the province's sunshine list, Const. MacDonald earns $101,524 a year. Recently, he gave a talk about 'sexting' at York Region's Empowered Student Partnership conference.

A second investigation involving another officer is still ongoing.

There is no indication that officer was, like Const. MacDonald, a member of the Criminal Investigations Bureau, located in Vaughan.

Const. MacDonald has been charged with two counts of uttering false documents, two counts of fraud under $5,000 and one count of fraud over $5,000.

His next court date is March 27 at the Newmarket courthouse.