Courtney D’Arthenay found happiness in her 30s with Tyler Dorzyk, a boat builder known for his gentle nature and streak of ingenuity — he’d gutted and customized a 1976 Chevy van for the couple’s travels to festivals and camping trips throughout Ontario. “He would save anything and everything for repurposing,” she recalled. “He was my calm, my rock.
A deep hug from him, and I would instantly feel at peace.” So she was devastated when, just after midnight on Sept. 29, 2020, an on-duty Ontario Provincial Police officer on a coffee run struck and killed the 35-year-old as he crossed Highway 12 near Midland, Ont.
It was a tragic accident, D’Arthenay accepts, her sorrow as profound as it was nearly four years ago. What she doesn’t accept is what the OPP told her in a letter, dated April 19, 2023. It told her that while an investigation by had determined there were reasonable grounds to believe that two officers — Const.
Jaimee McBain, who was speeding when her marked cruiser hit Dorzyk; and Sgt. Amy Thompson, who made inappropriate comments blaming the victim — did commit misconduct that evening, the OPP had determined “the misconduct was not of a serious nature.” “This matter can be addressed informally without holding a hearing,” the letter continued, including a generic list of factors that may be considered in decisions of this nature.
“It felt so disrespectful and not transparent,” says D’Arthenay, sent by “folks we trust and pay taxes .
