Toronto police investigating 'impropriety' in promotions process

A logo at the Toronto Police Services headquarters, in Toronto, on Friday, August 9, 2019. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Christopher Katsarov

The Toronto Police Service has begun an investigation into whether some officers were given an inside track in an exam that may have led to them getting promoted unfairly, CTV News has confirmed.

A spokesperson for the Toronto Police said in an e-mail that the investigation is a human resources matter and looking into “allegations of impropriety in a recent promotional process.”

But there have been no arrests and the matter has not made it to the force’s tribunal, the TPS’s forum for handling conduct matters and breaches of the Police Services Act, said Connie Osborne.

“If the matter were to proceed to Tribunal, it would be made public in that process. Should criminal charges arise, those would also be made public by the service,” Osborne said in an e-mail.

According to a police source, a complaint was made, accusing a senior officer of supplying answers to a promotional exam to as many as a dozen officers that was held late last year.

The identity of the senior officer being investigated has not been released.

The Toronto Police Association told CTV News it's aware of the internal investigation.

"We expect a full and impartial investigation," the union president said in a statement.