New Project South documents claim officer sold uniforms to alleged criminals

Newly unsealed documents are providing a fresh glimpse into the evidence detectives with York Regional Police gathered as they probed alleged corruption by Toronto police during Project South.

A decision from an Ontario judge Wednesday allowed the release of wiretap transcripts, tracking information and surveillance notes gathered over the months-long investigation.

The documents contain a slew of previously sealed details which form what’s called the Information to Obtain or ITO.

At the centre of the allegations is 12 Division Const. Timothy Barnhardt — one of 13 arrested, which includes current and former Toronto police officers.

The documents allege the 56-year-old officer improperly searched confidential databases that contained people’s home addresses, allegedly selling the information to criminals for cash. The ITO claims each search was typically charged at $500.

Investigators also connected Barnhardt to an inmate at the Toronto South Detention Centre, who it is claimed wanted to harm a jail guard.

It’s alleged Barnhardt supplied the jail official’s home address in the murder plot.

Investigators also say Barnhardt sold police badges and uniforms to alleged criminals.

In one of the documents, seeking approval for a nighttime raid for further evidence, an officer said it was thought he was armed.

“Timothy Barnhardt is also believed to possess firearms and has recently been intercepted advising if they (police) hit his door, he ‘is throwing down,’ perceived to mean that if police attempt to enter his residence, he will respond with violence,” part of the ITO read.

None of the allegations against Barnhardt or Da Costa have been proven in court.

A consortium of media organizations, including Global News, asked the court to allow Information to Obtain to be made public.

In her ruling, Justice Laura Bird agreed to release portions of the document which detail alleged police corruption, pointing out Project South came on many of the allegations by chance.

“What is, perhaps most concerning … is the fact that the York Regional Police only stumbled upon it in the course of their investigation into the conspiracy to murder the correctional officer. That is something that should be of tremendous concern to the public because it demonstrates that a trusted public official can engage in widespread illegal conduct and go undetected.”

One officer charged in the case has pleaded guilty.