Toronto officer suspended after allegedly sharing information about unspecified threat
Posted July 17, 2018 3:32 pm.
Last Updated July 17, 2018 5:52 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A Toronto police officer has been suspended with pay after allegedly sharing unofficial information about an unconfirmed threat last week.
Toronto police spokeswoman Meaghan Gray said the male officer shared the details with a “private-sector partner” of the Toronto Police Service (TPS).
“It’s not the media. It’s not the public. There are a number of private-sector partners that we worked closely with last week, and we’re alleging the information was unofficially released to somebody at one of those organizations,” she said.
As a matter of standard protocol, the officer’s name will not be released to the public unless he is charged with a professional offence under the Police Services Act and referred to a tribunal, Gray said.
A formal tribunal is also the only form of internal discipline that police would tell the public about, as is standard practice, she added.
On Thursday, information about a “potential risk” in the GTA led to an increased police presence near the CN Tower, Rogers Centre and Ripley’s Aquarium, all of which remained open.
Police would not specify what information they had received, or what their officers were looking for, but said the situation and their response were relatively common occurrences.
They insisted the public should not avoid any of the city’s attractions, prompting confusion among some and anxiety in others.
MEMO ALSO LEAKED TO MEDIA
The professional standards branch is also investigating a second breach last Thursday as a separate incident.
Multiple media outlets reported they had obtained a leaked internal Toronto police memo that stated officers had received “credible information regarding a potential vehicle ramming attack in the area of the CN Tower.”
Police declined to comment on the contents of that memo, but said it was a “draft operational plan” that was never approved.
Gray said it was not accurate, up-to-date or consistent with information the TPS had given officers that morning and had just finished sharing with the public.
“It’s important during these types of incidents that the information we are releasing is providing the most accurate direction to members of the public, the most accurate direction to our officers, while at the same time protecting the integrity of any investigation that we’re carrying on,” Gray said.
Police believe two different officers were involved, but they haven’t identified the second officer.
CORRECTION: An earlier version of this story included information CityNews obtained from a source and suggested that the officer allegedly shared the details with a member of the public. Toronto police now say the information was shared with one of their “private-sector partners.”
