The Bracebridge Detachment of the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) has charged a local man with impaired after an incident at a local park.
On Wednesday, August 12, 2026 at 5:30 p.m., Bracebridge OPP officers responded to reports of a possible impaired after two men became argumentative with families enjoying a baseball tournament at Gull Lake Park in Gravenhurst. The men were being inappropriate and potentially smoking in the park area near families with children and didn’t respond well when asked to move along. Eventually the pair left the area and police located the vehicle travelling on Muskoka Road 169 near Parkers Point Road.
As a result of their investigation, police have charged 59-year-old Joel Docherty of Port Carling, ON with Impaired Operation and Drive vehicle with cannabis readily available.
He will appear in the Ontario Court of Justice in Bracebridge on September 22, 2026 to answer to his charges.
Bracebridge OPP would like to remind park users that the Smoke Free Ontario Act prohibits smoking – which includes tobacco, cannabis and e-cigarettes- in many places, including (but not limited to) children’s parks and sporting areas, including the adjacent seating areas and parking lots. Smoking tobacco/cannabis or using an electronic cigarette in a prohibited place carries a fine of $250.00.
