Firing constable for alleged shoplifting like 'using a sledgehammer to kill a fly'

Firing Frederictonpolice officer Cherie Campbell last year over an alleged shoplifting attempt in Maine"was like using a sledgehammer to kill a fly," one of her lawyers argued to the Court of Appeal on Wednesday.

Michael Lacy said it amounted to the death penalty in employment law and it was unfair to send Campbell "to the employment gallows."

Campbell was never convicted of shoplifting. The jury at her shoplifting trial in Mainewas unable to reach a unanimous verdict on whether she intentionally tried to steal $20 worth of makeup fromMarden'sSurplus and Salvage inHoultononDec. 2,2014.

The matter was settled out of court without a finding of guilt or innocence.

But Campbell was fired from the Fredericton Police Force on Jan. 6, 2016,following a New Brunswick Police Commission disciplinary hearing.

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An arbitrator ruled Campbell was guilty of discreditable conduct for the alleged shoplifting attempt andattempting to gain favour from the local investigating police officers by repeatedlytelling them she, too, wasa police officer.

Campbell sought a judicial review of the arbitrator's ruling, but Court of Queen's Bench Justice PauletteGarnettruled in December that the arbitrator's findings were reasonable and upheld Campbell's firing.

Decision reserved

Her lawyers, Lacy and T.J. Burke, appealed to the province's highest court onWednesday, seeking to have the discreditable conduct finding overturned,Campbellacquitted andreinstated as a member of the Fredericton Police Force.

They argued there wasn't enoughevidence to prove she was trying to curry favour from the investigating officers, and firing her was not an appropriate punishment.

The lawyer representing the City of Fredericton and Fredericton Police Force Chief Leanne Fitch countered that the arbitrator's decision should not be disturbed unless it's unreasonable.

Amy Gough-Farnworth told the court that Cedric Haines made his decision based on the facts and she stressed that the Court of Queen's Bench judge found he made no error in coming to that conclusion.

Gough-Farnworth also argued that police officers hold positions of trust and must be held to a higher standard.

The Court of Appeal has reserved decision until an undetermined date.

Waiting for Jeff Smiley decision

Justice Marc Richard said the three-justice panel won't even begin deliberations until after the court rules on the case of another fired Fredericton police officer,Const. Jeff Smiley.

Smiley was firedafter an arbitrator found him guilty onDec. 2, 2015, of four counts of breaching the professional conduct standards of police officers, including domestic violence and firearms-related offences.

But Smiley sought a judicial review and on Nov. 18, 2016, Court of Queen's Bench Justice JudyClendeningquashed the arbitrator's decision, rulingSmiley's dismissal was unreasonable.

The New Brunswick Police Commission subsequentlyappealed.

Once the Court of Appeal rules onSmiley's case,Richard said the city's lawyer will have up to a week to submit any new arguments on Campbell's case and Campbell's lawyers will have another week before the panel begins deliberating.