Sources provide names of three Peel Police officers suspended in connection to York’s organized crime probe Project South

Three veteran officers with the Peel Regional Police force have been suspended from duty in connection to the Project South organized crime probe by York Regional Police. 

In a press conference Thursday, York Police leaders unveiled what is being described as one of the largest cases of police corruption in Canadian history. Seven Toronto Police officers and one retired member have been arrested along with 19 other suspects. 

Videos of disturbing gangland-style shootings were shown Thursday as part of the bombshell press conference 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. They allegedly fed information to an organized criminal network with international ties. The evidence links some of the crime to the tow-truck industry and one of the non-police suspects arrested is directly tied to the sector, which has been at the heart of shootings and violent attacks across the GTA over the past few years. 

Disturbing videos of three shootings that took place this past summer at homes in Brampton, on what appeared to be quiet residential streets, were shown during Thursday's press conference. Multiple gunshots from what seemed like an automatic weapon were fired from close range at cars on driveways and houses during each attack. Windows of homes were shown with more than a half-dozen bullet holes fired through them.

Sources have told The Pointer that the three Peel officers suspended in connection to Project South are Sergeant Adrian Shipp, Constable Scott King, and Constable Paul Binns. According to a press release from 2020, Binns now has more than 20 years on the force. Sources said King and Shipp are also longtime veterans on the force, and King has been involved in investigating several complex high profile cases. 

“No officers from Peel Regional Police (PRP) have been charged in connection to Project South. The scope of the York Regional Police investigation is wide-reaching and ongoing,” Constable Tyler Bell-Morena with Peel Police said in a statement to the Toronto Star. He confirmed that three officers have been suspended but did not provide their names. 

Questions about the three suspended officers sent by The Pointer have not been answered.  

The probe 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, who are allegedly connected to the criminal ring, 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 Thursday. “It highlights how these criminals infiltrate these institutions across our society.”

Asked by a CBC reporter yesterday 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 if the sweeping investigation had implicated any other policing agencies, but said all leads would be pursued tirelessly in the ongoing probe.

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

More to come. 

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