Former Toronto officer pleads guilty in Project South corruption probe

TORONTO — A retired Toronto police constable became the first officer to resolve charges in the sprawling Project South corruption investigation, pleading guilty Tuesday to breach of trust and theft under $5,000.Derek McCormick, 57, received a 10-month conditional sentence that includes five months of house arrest and five months of a curfew. Ontario Court of Justice Justice Jonathan Bliss accepted a joint submission from the Crown and defence."Your actions tarnished your reputation and the reputation of all honest, hard-working Toronto police officers," Bliss told McCormick."You sit before me with your policing career appropriately at an end.".According to an agreed statement of facts, McCormick stole a cellphone turned in by a member of the public at 52 Division in October 2025 and provided it to Const. Timothy Barnhardt. Barnhardt, described as the genesis of the Project South probe, faces multiple charges that have not been tested in court.The Crown described McCormick as a peripheral player with no evidence he knew how the phone would be used. Four other charges against him — additional theft counts and obstruction of justice — were withdrawn.McCormick had a painkiller addiction and PTSD at the time, the court heard. He bought Percocet from Barnhardt on multiple occasions. Mitigating factors, including his guilty plea and remorse, supported the conditional sentence..Project South began in June 2025 after York Regional Police disrupted an alleged plot to kill a senior corrections officer at the Toronto South Detention Centre. The investigation expanded to uncover alleged ties between Toronto officers, organized crime, drug trafficking and misuse of police information and resources.Several other officers and civilians charged in the probe are scheduled to appear in Superior Court, many proceeding by direct indictment with streamlined charges. Prosecutors have dropped or consolidated dozens of counts across the cases — a standard step to focus on the strongest evidence, according to legal observers.McCormick retired from the Toronto Police Service in early July after 28 years of service. He was suspended without pay in May.

Former Toronto officer pleads guilty in Project South corruption probe

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