Calgary police officer accused of harassing another woman who dated her ex-boyfriend

A Calgary police officer with a history of troubling behaviour toward women she sees as romantic rivals has been arrested and charged with criminal harassment while awaiting trial on the same charge.

Const. Jacki MacNeilwas also previously disciplined under the Police Act for harassinga woman who dated her on-again, off-again boyfriend.

On Friday, police announced MacNeil had been arrested and charged again.

Although the Calgary Police Service (CPS) did not give details of the allegations faced by MacNeil, sources say the new offence is closely related to her previous behaviour.

• CPS officer on trial for harassment previously stalked 'romantic rival': disciplinary decision

"I think this can be best described as a misunderstanding and I look forward to defending the constable on these charges," said MacNeil's lawyer, Jim Lutz.

While she is employed by CPS, the service said in a statement that MacNeil is not on active duty.

Discreditable conduct

Allegations against MacNeil date back at least four years.

MacNeil was disciplined in 2020 after she harassed a woman who dated her on-again, off-again boyfriend.

The officer pleaded guilty to charges of discreditable conduct and insubordinationunder the Police Act, admittingshe harasseda woman over text messages, followedher and setup a fake dating account to lure her to a meeting spot.

In addition to the harassment, MacNeil also admitted to searching the woman's personal information on internal CPS databases 13 times.

A history of 'similar behaviour'

The presiding officer who accepted MacNeil's guilty pleas and handed her a one-year demotion and one-week suspension without pay penalty wrote that MacNeil had a history of "similar behaviour" and that she had been warned in the past about the inappropriateness of her actions.

The related behaviour, wrote the presiding officer, was "addressed at the supervisory level" in past instances.

• Police officer accused of harassing her boyfriend's ex sent back to trial

In April, MacNeilwas ordered to go back on trial on charges of harassment and unwanted communication stemming from allegations she targeted a woman in 2019 who had also been connected to herex.

Her charges had been stayed based on a missing video but, on appeal, a higher court judge ruled MacNeil was either "negligent" or "strategic" in pursuing that evidence.

MacNeil's trial resumes later in June before a provincial court judge.

In that case, police allege that over a seven-month period in 2018, MacNeil excessively contacted the victim and threatened to ruin her reputation both personally and professionally.