Toronto police officer to be charged in connection with McArthur investigation
Posted February 1, 2019 6:13 pm.
Last Updated February 1, 2019 11:39 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
A police officer will appear before the Toronto police tribunal next week to be charged in connection with the Bruce McArthur investigation.
Police confirm to CityNews that Sgt. Paul Gauthier is expected to be charged with neglect of duty and insubordination.
McArthur pleaded guilty on Tuesday to eight counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Selim Esen, Andrew Kinsman, Majeed Kayhan, Dean Lisowick, Soroush Mahmudi, Skandaraj Navaratnam, Abdulbasir Faizi, and Kirushna Kanagaratnam.
Police say the charges are connected to an internal police probe that was launched last March during the investigation into McArthur, shortly after he was arrested.
Det. Sgt. Hank Idsinga, who led the investigation into alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur, said that in the course of his work on the case he came across “concerning” information that triggered the internal probe.
He didn’t provide any further details at the time, but said he became aware of the information after reviewing two previous police investigations into five missing men from Toronto’s gay village.
“I saw something I felt needed to be investigated further,” Idsinga said in an interview. He prepared a report with his findings and sent it to the force’s professional standards unit.
In a statement Friday night, attorney Lawrence Gridin defended Gauthier’s actions in a 2016 incident in which McArthur was arrested but not charged and said his client has “great sympathy for the victims and the community.”
“The decision not to charge Bruce McArthur for the 2016 incident was made in conjunction with Det. Gauthier’s supervisor and based on the information available at the time,” Gridin said.
“McArthur’s monstrous nature was difficult to uncover because he led a life of extreme deception, not because of anything to do with the 2016 arrest.”
Toronto Police released a statement stating, “When Homicide Squad investigators working the Bruce McArthue case identified prior investigative concerns, they immediately contacted Professional Standards. As a result, an officer has been compelled to attend a tribunal in efforts to provide an explanation for his actions.”
Sgt. Gauthier will appear at the police tribunal at 9 a.m. on Tuesday
