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It was Jan. 16, 2018, and Ottawa police Const. Marcel Allen, coming up on 25 years on the job, was acting on suspicion and impulse when he burst into a family’s east-end home to confront a teen he thought was dealing weed.

Allen flashed his badge and quickly identified himself as a police officer.

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Only Allen wasn’t there on police business but rather to confront a teen he thought was dealing marijuana to his own son. Allen had no search warrant and was armed with a large kitchen knife. He wasn’t brandishing it but rather holding its handle, the blade concealed in a bag.

The family, startled and scared by the intruder, demanded that he get out of their house. Police were called and they arrested one of their own.

On Wednesday, Allen pleaded guilty to unlawful entry to a dwelling and apologized, saying he made a serious mistake.

“My intent was not danger,” the officer told Ontario Court Justice Peter Griffiths.