OPP have charged a woman after a report of a disturbance at an Espanola arena.
On February 11 at 8:30 p.m., police started the investigation that had occurred at an arena in that town. It was reported that after an earlier hockey game on that same day, a coach had threatened and assaulted a 12-year-old player from an opposing team. No injuries were reported.
Melisa Rancourt, 50, from Espanola, was arrested and charged with:
- Assault
- Uttering threats - cause death or bodily harm
- Causing a disturbance
Rancourt is the same woman who admitted to yelling ‘Nazis’ and resisting arrest for refusing to show proof of vaccination during an incident at a children's hockey game at the Espanola Rec Centre on Sept. 26, 2021
Following that hearing, Rancourt was demoted from first-class constable to third-class constable for one year, followed by one year in the rank of second-class constable, conditional on satisfactory performance of duty by the officer and the concurrence of her unit commander. She was also required to perform 40 hours of volunteer work through the Friends of Simon Wiesenthal Centre for Holocaust Studies.
Rancourt is scheduled to appear at the Ontario Court of Justice in Espanola on March 4.
