Seven serving Toronto police officers and one retired member face criminal charges after a seven-month probe alleged a plot to murder a senior Ontario corrections officer. York Regional Police announced the arrests Thursday in Project South, a probe that unearthed alleged corruption, illegal database access and links between officers and organized crime.
Police said the probe produced charges against at least 27 people, including officers accused of unlawfully querying police databases and leaking confidential records to criminal figures. Investigators tied several of the returned addresses to subsequent criminal incidents, including extortion, commercial robberies and shootings.
York Regional Police identified the Toronto officers under investigation. Names listed by police include Const. Timothy Barnhardt, Sgt. Robert Black, Const. John Madeley Sr. (retired), Const. John Madeley Jr., Sgt. Carl Grellette, Const. Saurabjit Bedi, Const. Derek McCormick and Const. Elias Mouawad. Charges range from conspiracy to commit murder to possession of a prohibited firearm and disguise with intent.
Deputy Chief Ryan Hogan said the probe began after a June attack at the corrections officer’s home in York Region. Surveillance footage shown at the news conference captured three masked, armed men who later returned and rammed a police cruiser in the driveway. Hogan said officers uncovered evidence that Barnhardt accessed and distributed confidential information about the officer, which was then used to recruit criminals to carry out harm.
“This investigation identified and disrupted serious criminal activity in the Greater Toronto Area that posed a grave risk to our community safety,” Hogan said. “This includes a conspiracy to commit murder, shooting, extortion, robbery, drug trafficking and firearms offences.”
Police linked some suspects to a sophisticated drug-trafficking network. Hogan said authorities seized 169 pounds of cannabis and one pound of fentanyl during a January arrest of alleged kingpin Brian Da Costa. Investigators also recovered a “substantial amount” of stolen personal documents, including driver’s licences, health cards and passports, which police say were taken from a police facility.
Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw described the case as the most significant professional standards matter he has seen. “This is a painful and unsettling moment,” he said. “It needs to be addressed openly and it needs to be addressed honestly.”
Mayor Olivia Chow said she will meet with the chief and the police board. “The chief of police has to earn that trust back by rooting out officers who have committed crimes and make the necessary systemic changes after the independent review,” Chow said.
The Toronto Police Service Board requested an independent inspection by the Inspector General of Policing to review database access, supervision and vetting. Deputy Chief Hogan said investigators will conduct retroactive reviews of cases involving the charged officers to determine whether past investigations were compromised.
