EXCLUSIVE: Peel police inspector accused of sexual assault identified

An inspector with Peel Regional Police is being accused of sexual assault stemming from an off-site work function in May, CityNews has learned. In a Toronto Star article in 1992, an officer by the same name was convicted of assaulting two men.

A police source confirms to CityNews that Daniel Johnstone, named in the Star article, is the same officer accused of sexual assault.

Johnstone was a former detective-sergeant on the force’s homicide squad. He was promoted to inspector at the end of September this year.

The province’s Special Investigations Unit was notified of the more recent alleged incident on Nov. 28 and is looking into the sexual assault allegations.

CityNews first broke the story of the accusation on Thursday. At the time, it was made known that Johnstone has been suspended pending the results of the investigation.

In the 1992 assault, The Toronto Star reported the following:

  • Johnstone, and another Peel officer, were found guilty of beating two men outside a Port Credit tavern in August of 1991. Both officers were off-duty at the time, according to the report.
  • A 28-year-old makeup artist testified Johnstone approached him in the bar and made a homophobic remark, at which point his friend intervened.
  • An argument between the four men then ensued, and the police officers were asked to leave by tavern staff, according to the Toronto Star.
  • The two men testified the police officers were waiting for them when they left to go to their nearby apartments, which is where the physical altercation took place.
  • The judge in the assault case called the police officers versions of what happened “outright lies.”
  • According to the Toronto Star report, the officers were fined $1,500 each.

 

Johnstone was on the province’s Sunshine List in 2016, earning $179,768.91. The list came out in March, before he was promoted.

 

Top Stories

Top Stories

Most Watched Today