Jason Nevill, who was convicted of an assault that was caught on camera, resigned from the Barrie Police Service. 

His resignation was submitted last night by his lawyer, and Barrie's police chief Kimberley Greenwood says it's effective immediately. The former Barrie cop is also no longer appealing his conviction.

Nevill resigned just months after being convicted for an assault on a man he was trying to arrest outside the Bayfield Mall. Greenwood accepted Nevill's resignation and says she wasn't surprised.

“Const. Nevill's resignation is something that had to occur whether through this resignation or request by the service he be dismissed,” she says.

Nevill is currently serving a one-year sentence behind bars for the brutal beating of Jason Stern in November 2010 that was captured by the mall’s surveillance camera. Stern was initially charged with assault on a police officer. But once this video surfaced, the charges were dropped and Nevill was charged, found guilty and sentenced.

The police services board was in the process of deciding his fate with the force when Nevill’s lawyer presented his resignation last night.

“The law is very clear that a jail sentence means the end of your job. So the decision was effectively made for him,” says lawyer David Butt.

Nevill’s lawyer had planned to appeal his conviction, but after a judge dismissed Nevill’s application for bail, Butt says that appeal will no longer happen.

“The amount of time it takes to get an appeal schedule for hearing is in the range of six to nine months,” he says. “The fact him being denied release means by the time his appeal is heard he would have served the entire portion of his sentence. So the appeal essentially became meaningless.”

Following Nevill’s conviction, Barrie’s police chief slapped the former constable with five charges under the Police Service Act including unlawful use of force of authority. Greenwood says those charges will no longer be pursued because of the resignation. Greenwood says the force is now looking to move forward.

“Const. Nevill's conduct is totally unacceptable and criminal offences are the standards we carry ourselves in. We have many members that carry themselves in a respectful manner and will continue to do so,” she says.

Nevill’s lawyer says the earliest he could eligible for parole is after serving four months. Nevill is also facing a civil suit brought against him by his victim.