A Barrel of Bad Apples: The Presidents of The Toronto Police Union

Art by Author (2020)

Update: McCormack retired early in August 2020; you can read more about the new union president’s (Jon Reid) history of misconduct here. Several events may have contributed to McCormack’s early retirement, such as allegations of shady dealings via the sale of the police union building, a human rights report concluding that sexual harassment was likely a pervasive problem across the Toronto police forces, and historic protests against police brutality.

Mike McCormack is the current president of the Toronto Police Association. Recently, he has been fighting against a motion to reduce the police budget by 10% because he believes that police in Toronto “do a great job each and every day”. He lamented that police officers often get “vilified” because of the “actions of so few” and this results in a “condemnation of the whole job, which is really unfair”.

So of course he is one of the good apples that gets a bad rap simply because of he’s a police officer…right?

And surely the police officers he represents wouldn’t elect these “bad apples” into positions of power…regularly….….right?

Herein I will detail some of the ethical and criminal allegations against recent presidents of the Toronto Police Association. Many of the criminal charges were dropped or not pursued likely due to the pervasive “blue code” culture that plagues Toronto police forces. The blue code is an informal rule that pressures police officers to protect other officers from punishment. This quote from ex-police union president Craig Bromell on his blog “Copfather” sums up the problem well:

I come from a time when we all stuck together. I demanded it […] We are all BLUE. If one is attacked we are all attacked. We will all fight back […] Police should have that ‘Wolf pack mentality’ […] All we have is each other and we demand respect.

A history of recent presidents of the Toronto Police Association:

Craig Bromell 1997–2003

• In 1996, Craig Bromell allegedly beat up a homeless man (Thomas Kerr) as revenge for a previous encounter a couple weeks prior where Kerr broke an officer’s elbow. Kerr was picked up by a cruiser and driven to an abandoned warehouse where nine officers allegedly punched and kicked Kerr until he escaped. He was reported to have a bloodshot eye, swollen jaw, many abrasions, bleeding lips, and blood in his urine. An internal investigation commenced and the suspected police officers’ lockers were sealed to protect potential evidence, but by the next morning the seals were broken and one locker had clearly been opened at the hinges. The investigator reported changes to police notebooks that made it look as though Kerr had an eye injury and was bleeding from his mouth before the alleged beating. The internal investigator’s testimony stated that police claimed that they had never picked up Kerr. The suspected officers refused to talk with investigators on two separate occasions and objected to being in a formal lineup. The exhaustive internal affairs investigation concluded Kerr’s story was true and criminal charges should be laid. Evidence included fingerprints of Kerr’s lifted from the cruiser, Kerr’s blood being found on the bottom of the boot of one officer, his hair in the gun belt of another, and wiretap evidence. Charges were never laid. Kerr then sued through civil courts and after 6.5 years (2003), the police union agreed to settle and compensate Kerr for his “pain and suffering”, but did not admit guilt.
• In 2000, under Bromell’s leadership, the police union started Operation True Blue (a telemarketing fundraising campaign) to unseat police-unfriendly politicians. It also issued windshield stickers to people who donate money to the police union. Critics said that this was a racket, a campaign of intimidation, and was against the Police Services Act, which prohibits police officers from soliciting funds for political activity. There was concern that people with the stickers would receive special treatment (e.g., disregarding minor traffic infractions). Toronto police chief threatened that charges would be laid against the six union executives, which forced the campaign to stop.
• In 2000, deputy chief Robert Kerr alleged Bromell tried to blackmail him into resigning by (indirectly) threatening to release unspecified embarrassing personal information about him. It was speculated that this was in part due to R. Kerr ordering in 1995 a rare public inquiry into the behavior of some officers, which Bromell had taken issue with.
• In 2001, police chief Julian Fantino alleged that he was being covertly surveilled by the police union, which was under the direction of Bromell. Fantino stated that “this is the trademark of this particular association leadership and I find it disgusting”. The Toronto Police Association, in response, launched a $19-million defamation suit against the chief, the police board, the Toronto Sun, and Sun reporter. The suit was later dropped. In a 2016 blog post, Bromell appears to admit that the allegations were true. He writes “I admit that we did surveillance on people — and often counter-surveillance, because we would uncover that the Command was actually following us”. This implies that Bromell would order the surveillance of high ranking officers if they investigated other police officers for misconduct.

Rick McIntosh 2003–2004

• In 2003, a probe had found that some bars, whose owners had paid bribes, faced fewer charges for liquor licence offences. McIntosh was named as a subject of the probe, so after only 6 months of being president of The Toronto Police Association he stepped down. McIntosh was later charged with soliciting and accepting bribes from nightclub owners in the entertainment district. In one recording, McIntosh leaves a message for another police officer (William McCormack Jr.) that is allegedly about how they would split the payoffs from a pub. McIntosh’s lawyer said his client had been on a leave of absence when he agreed to help a downtown bar obtain a liquor licence. The judge presiding over the case accused the lead police investigator of causing lengthy delays, which resulted in the charges against McIntosh to be dropped.

Mike McCormack 2009-Present

• In 2002, he co-found an annual event named “Fite Nite” where officers could box each other for bragging rights and to raise money. Toronto Police Services condemned this event, said that it had “boozy underpinnings and sexist overtones”, and that it does not fit with the image the service is trying to project.
• In 2004, McCormack allegedly was involved with a reputed organized crime affiliated used-car salesman (Geller). It was alleged that he misused his “character and position” as a police officer for private advantage. His wife was a director in a company that helped Geller lease cars without a licence. An inspection also revealed that McCormack’s wife’s company received large commissions from a car dealership connected to Geller. McCormack and his wife did not believe they were helping Geller break any rules because Geller was leasing cars, not selling them. He was charged with corruption and discreditable conduct. Those charges were later dropped.
• In 2005, McCormack was involved as a witness in a trial against another police officer. According to a wiretapped conversation, the police officer let go an arrested individual because they knew McCormack: “once she fucking dropped Mikey’s name … it’s good enough for me, right?” McCormack’s testimony was described by the inspector as “an unsophisticated attempt to support the unsupportable and an amateurish attempt to mislead this tribunal”, suggesting that he was trying to cover for the accused officer.
• In 2008, McCormack was charged with misconduct for recording Toronto Star reporter John Duncanson (for his own purposes) while he was being held in a cell after an arrest for public drunkenness. Duncanson often reported on police corruption including writing stories about Mike McCormack’s older brother (William McCormack Jr.). Duncanson was at the time struggling with alcoholism and passed away in 2009. This charge was dismissed.
• In 2009, McCormack was charged and convicted of insubordination under the police act. He was found to have accessed improperly (and for purposes not related to law enforcement) the Toronto Star reporter Duncanson’s records in the police database. McCormack testified that Duncanson had told him he was facing a charge so he was just doing “his due diligence” in making sure Duncanson wasn’t wanted. The Supt. for the case reported that McCormack’s testimony for why he did this was “incongruent with common sense, logic, and his subsequent actions”. John Duncanson’s widow had stated that “McCormack was preying on John. That’s what was going on”. The fine was 40 hours pay, but because McCormack had already been elected to the Toronto Police Association he could not be compelled to pay the fine since he was no longer paid by TPS.
• In 2009, after a Fite Nite event three officers allegedly beat up another officer; he was hospitalized due to serious head injuries. No criminal charges were laid and no disciplinary action was reported. McCormack ended Fite Nite sometime after this incident, but it has re-emerged under a different name: Gloves Up. This event rebirth was co-founded by the recent TPA president candidate runner-up Andrew Nanton, and sponsored by ex-TPA president Craig Bromell.
• In 2013, an officer was convicted of attempted murder for shooting a man holding a knife 9 times; 3 times initially and then another 6 times once the victim was already bleeding out on the ground. McCormack called the verdict a “chilling” message that may negatively impact the psyche of front line officers. He vowed to appeal the ruling to get “justice” for the convicted officer. The appeal was rejected by the Supreme Court.
• In 2018, an officer alleged that she filed a human rights complaint and brought evidence to McCormack of racism and sexual abuse within the force. Recently, she has been posting screenshots online of comments police officers have made in private chats to corroborate her claims. She alleges that McCormack did not act on the information and that he is protecting them.
• In 2020, there were allegations of mishandling millions of funds when The Toronto Police Association sold a property to a developer for 7.4 million and then the developer sold it 13 months later for 11.5 million (a 55% profit). The developer was reported to have made no significant improvements to the property and did not apply for any permits to repair or restore it before selling it. Some have called for a forensic audit of the transaction, but McCormack says that is unnecessary. The buyers of the buildings also have histories of misconduct and were previously awarded an over $400,000 contract for construction on a police property.

Other members of Mike McCormack’s family

William McCormack Jr. (older brother)

• In 2004, McCormack Jr. was suspended from his duties as a plainclothes officer due to criminal charges of corruption for “shaking down club owners” (same corruption probe that Rick McIntosh was charged in). The division where he had worked was also disbanded and reassigned. Sources indicated this was pre-emptive move ordered by Toronto police chief Julian Fantino out of concern that the others knew about what was going on. McCormack Jr.’s lawyer had said his client had borrowed money from club owners, but that such an act didn’t constitute a crime. The criminal charges for soliciting and accepting bribes were withdrawn due to excessive delays by the lead police investigator. He resigned in 2009.

William McCormack (father) police chief from 1989–1995

• During William McCormack’s tenure, the police force had a dedicated “black organized crime squad”, which prompted criticism that they were singling out black people to be over-policed. The black crime squad was disbanded in 1996 (a year after his resignation).
• In early 1990, McCormack’s police force secretly destroyed physical evidence and provided a reference letter in exchange for the resignation of an officer accused of running an escort service and possessing hashish (Constable Gordon Junger).

Police should be held to a higher, not lower, standard than regular citizens.

Toronto police officers choose to elect, protect, and promote these bad apple union presidents over and over again… why? Maybe it’s because they also want that same protection if and when they act not so ethically themselves.

From 1998 to 2005, over $30 million dollars was spent settling lawsuits against the Toronto police force. This amount isn’t going down either. This year, TPS settled a class-action lawsuit for 16.5 million for mass-arresting citizens during the G20 protests a decade ago.

If these bad apples cost us so much and are “so few”, why do they insist on keeping them? Perhaps bad apples are the rule, not the exception.