Toronto police chief promises ‘no stone unturned’ amid corruption scandal
CBC
Calls are mounting for an independent investigation into the Toronto Police Service after seven officers and one retired constable were arrested and charged in a months-long corruption probe with ties to the tow-trucking industry.
Toronto police Chief Myronw Demkiw is among those making the call. He said the findings from a York police investigation “deeply disappointing.”
“This news is both shocking and completely unacceptable,” he said at a news conference Thursday.
York Regional Police’s investigation began last year after the service uncovered an alleged conspiracy to kill a corrections management member of an Ontario detention centre.
There are now 27 people from across the Greater Toronto Area facing charges as part of the ongoing case, including drug trafficking, conspiracy to commit murder, breach of trust by a public officer and obstruction of justice.
Demkiw and Shelley Carroll, chair of the Toronto Police Service Board, sent a letter to the inspector general on Wednesday, making an official request for an independent review.
A review is crucial to identifying shortcomings within the force and to rebuild trust with the public, said Demkiw. But he said neither the request nor the latest arrests should undermine the work of over 8,000 other TPS members.
“We will not let the actions of the few define the many,” he said. “We are committed to leaving no stone unturned.”
Inspector General Ryan Teschner is considering the request and will announce his decision publicly at a later date, said spokesperson Rima Amri in an emailed statement.
She said Teschner recognizes “the seriousness” of the York investigation and “the public trust concerns” that are being raised.
Teschner has previously served as the executive director and chief of staff of the Toronto police board, according to the Inspectorate of Policing website.
The province needs to go a step further with an independent judicial inquiry, said Karen McCrimmon, the Ontario Liberal critic for public safety, in an emailed statement.
The case should not “be handled quietly or internally,” said McCrimmon. Instead she suggests an inquiry will be essential to investigating the full scope of the accused’s actions, identifying systemic failure and introducing possible reforms.
This transparent and honest process is what the public deserves, she said.
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