At least three Brampton home shootings linked to one of Canada’s worst cases of police corruption; 7 Toronto officers arrested in organized crime probe

Canada is a country where firearms are heavily restricted, and most residents go about their daily life with a sense of peace. Last summer, that peace was shattered in neighbourhoods across parts of Southern Ontario. In a startling disclosure of evidence, it turns out, an organized crime ring being fed information by Toronto Police officers is responsible, an investigation by York Regional Police has uncovered. 

In brazen doorstep onslaughts through August and September of last year, residents in London, Vaughan and Brampton were awoken to gunshots echoing through their quiet residential streets.

Videos of the disturbing gangland-style shootings were shown as part of a bombshell press conference Thursday morning at York Regional Police headquarters where police officials outlined how these targeted attacks, and a conspiracy to kill a Toronto-area corrections officer, allegedly involved at least seven current members of the Toronto Police Service, and one now retired officer, feeding information to an organized criminal network with international ties. It is being described as one of the worst cases of police corruption in Canadian history. 

Sources have told The Pointer that officers with other police forces in Southern Ontario, including Peel Police, could be part of the ongoing investigation into police wrongdoing.

The probe, dubbed Project South, involves a vast network of organized crime and the alleged help of police officers to carry out shootings and other crimes across Southern Ontario. According to York Police, 19 other suspects have been arrested as part of the months-long investigation.

“This is a deeply disappointing and sad day for policing,” York Police Chief Jim MacSween said. “It highlights how these criminals infiltrate these institutions across our society.”

Asked by a CBC reporter to confirm information from sources that police officers from other forces are also implicated, York Deputy Chief Ryan Hogan, the lead investigative officer, would not confirm whether the sweeping investigation had implicated any other policing agencies, but said all leads would be pursued tirelessly in the ongoing probe.

York Police handled the investigation into the Toronto officers when evidence was obtained by the York force in the middle of last year, and to avoid any conflict, Toronto Police only cooperated to provide needed assistance, with no investigative authority. 

Questions sent to York Police and Peel Police Thursday were not answered. 

“Organized crime is an insidious action that takes place in many institutions including policing. We are certainly aware that could affect multiple institutions and other policing services,” Hogan said during the press conference. “We are committed to looking at all avenues in terms of relationships of the arrested officers, the retired member, and other avenues of organized crime and their relationships.”

Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw was also in attendance at the press conference. He described the findings of the investigation that implicated seven of his officers as a “painful and unsettling moment”. 

“It needs to be addressed openly and honestly,” he said. Chief Demkiw has requested an independent audit of his organization by Ontario’s Inspector General of Policing as a result of Project South’s shocking allegations. 

(From left to right): Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw, Chief of York Regional Police Jim MacSween and York Deputy Chief Ryan Hogan during Thursday’s press conference.

(York Regional Police)

The charges laid as a result of Project South are vast and jaw dropping, like a storyline straight from a crime thriller. 

Conspiracy to commit murder, shootings, extortion, robbery, drug trafficking, firearm offences, bribery, obstruction of justice, drug trafficking, theft of personal property, breach of trust and unauthorized access of personal information. It is alleged officers with the Toronto Police accessed confidential information and fed it to organized criminal networks to facilitate shootings across Southern Ontario. The evidence links some of the crime to the tow-truck industry and one of the non-police suspects arrested has direct links to the sector, which has been at the heart of shootings and violent attacks across the GTA over the past few years. 

The most disturbing information Thursday was the alleged disclosure by a Toronto police officer who provided the address of a corrections officer subsequently targeted by the criminal ring three times in an alleged murder plot that was unsuccessful. A chilling, late-night shooting attempt was foiled by police, and other criminals who appeared at the victim’s home were caught on security and surveillance video. 

Among those officers who have been charged:

• 56-year-old Constable Timothy Barnhardt is facing a total of 17 charges of peace officer accepting a bribe, breach of trust, unauthorized use of a computer and conspiracy to obstruct justice, drug trafficking and firearm related charges;
• 42-year-old Sergeant Robert Black is facing four charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice, counsel and uncommitted indictable offence, fraud exceeding $5,000, and possession for the purpose of trafficking cocaine and adderall;
• 49-year-old Sergeant Carl Grellette is facing four charges of conspiracy to obstruct justice, breach of trust by a public officer, mischief not exceeding $5,000 and harassment by repeated following of another person;
• 38-year-old Constable Saurabjit Bedi has six charges laid against him including peace officer conspiracy to accept a bribe, traffic an illegal substance, conspiracy to commit public mischief, and two counts of conspiracy to obstruct justice;
• 24-year-old Constable Elias Mouawad is facing two charges or breach of public trust by public officer and unauthorized use of a computer;
• 57-year-old Constable Derek McCormick has been charged with six offences, breach of public trust by a public officer, obstruction of justice and four counts of theft under $5,000;
• 29-year-old Constable John Madeley Jr., son of the retired Constable John Madeley Sr., has been charged with two offences of breach of trust by a public officer, and unauthorized use of a computer; 
• 55-year-old retired constable John Madeley Sr. is facing a total of 11 charges including two counts of breach of trust by public officer and five counts of unauthorized use of a computer. The retired officer was also charged in January for his alleged involvement in an online gambling ring. The father and son duo are both accused of leaking information to criminals.

York Police officials allege Barnhardt, Black, Bedi and Grellette were directly involved with Brian Da Costa, one of the alleged criminals at the centre of the organized drug trafficking ring that Project South infiltrated. The Toronto Police officers were allegedly “supporting illegal cannabis dispensaries by accepting bribes to provide, ultimately, protection from law enforcement investigation,” Deputy Chief Hogan explained.

None of the charges have been proven in court. 

The alarming news, that police officers were allegedly taking bribes to provide cover for organized criminals to wreak havoc across the province, putting residents in harm’s way, has rocked Ontario. Since the shocking news, people have been posting on social media that trust in police has been shaken to its core.

“We need a whole other police force just to charge this cop with all his crimes,” one Reddit user posted Thursday, referring to Madeley Sr., who was arrested and charged earlier this year, in a separate case, for allegedly working with an organized crime gambling ring and using threats and violence to collect money. 

According to media reports, while still on the Toronto force 15 years ago, Madeley Sr. (who retired this past April) tried to avoid traffic for personal reasons by taking a police cruiser, using the siren and driving on the shoulder of a highway. He was given a slap on the wrist. He had previously been charged with DUI in 2008, while on the force; the charge was stayed.

A still taken from a York Police video showing a gunman firing multiple gunshots at a home in Brampton in August 2025.

(York Regional Police)

“This is among the most complex and challenging investigations of my 28-year policing career,” Hogan said.

Sources who told The Pointer of a possible connection to other forces, including Peel Police, said the local law enforcement department has a long history of officer misconduct. 

A 2023 report from Peel Regional Police detailed a number of disciplinary actions taken against Peel officers in 2023, including “allegations of gang affiliation” against one officer, who would be dismissed or forced to resign. 

The same report also includes details of an officer shoplifting at a superstore while off duty, another charged with domestic assault, one who filed nine fraudulent benefit claims, another arrested for impaired driving, and an officer who failed to investigate cases of intimate partner violence.

Over a five-year period starting in 2010, 640 Peel police officers, almost a third of the force at the time, had to be disciplined for misconduct, the worst rate in Ontario and three times worse than the second most disciplined force in the province.

The results of Project South and the troubling connection between police and criminal networks come at a time when Peel is dealing with an influx of organized crime, much of it targeting the South Asian community across Brampton and Mississauga. In June last year, Peel Police targeted a criminal ring exploiting and threatening South Asian-owned businesses. 

In December, residents and scared business owners packed a town hall in Brampton to express their frustration over the lack of action by law enforcement to address targeted crimes, which have been connected to an international organized crime group, and the Indian government.  

In January last year, residents in North Brampton filled a community centre to share their concerns about ongoing crime in the area.

“It's been nonstop over the last, I would say, three to five years… From house break-ins two doors down from me, a house was broken in, a guy was assaulted in his driveway when they tried to steal his Mercedes, a very expensive car,” Mike Dwyer, a Brampton resident who attended the town hall, told The Pointer at the time.

He mentioned a November 2024 shooting in the Inder Heights Drive and Mayfield Road area. Dwyer shared how the incident deeply impacted the community’s sense of safety.

"This young guy that was shot by mistake because he drove a black pickup truck—I drive a black pickup truck, so I'm lucky. One of my neighbours down the street bought a brand new F150, a black one. After the shooting, he took it back and bought a new truck, baby blue colour, because he was too afraid to drive a black pickup truck.”

Residents across Ontario are now questioning the role of police officers in organized criminal activity that has shaken neighbourhoods throughout the province.

Toronto Police Chief Demkiw was asked Thursday if he has been advised to resign by the mayor or police board. He replied: “No”.

York Chief MacSween, was also asked about the shattered trust.

“Everytime we put on this uniform we renew our commitment to each and every one of you, not just to keep you safe, but to stand up for what is right,” the visibly remorseful York police leader told reporters Thursday, after they repeatedly asked the two chiefs about how the public could ever trust officers again. 

“While we work collectively to right these wrongs, please know we are committed to transparency because it is the only way to rebuild trust.”

Email: [email protected]

At a time when vital public information is needed by everyone, The Pointer has taken down our paywall on all stories to ensure every resident of Brampton, Mississauga and Niagara has access to the facts. For those who are able, we encourage you to consider a subscription. This will help us report on important public interest issues the community needs to know about now more than ever. You can register for a 30-day free trial HERE. Thereafter, The Pointer will charge $10 a month and you can cancel any time right on the website. Thank you