Former Toronto Mayor John Sewell says the shocking arrests of several Toronto police officers in a corruption and organized crime probe amounts to a troubling “management problem” that points all the way up to Chief Myron Demkiw.

Speaking to CityNews after the arrests were announced on Thursday, Sewell expressed his dismay at the situation, but said it should’ve never gotten to this point.

“It really is shocking,” said Sewell, who served as mayor between 1978 and 1980.

“One or two rogue officers, you can understand that but to have a whole bunch of officers (allegedly) coordinating themselves together and working on some pretty vicious stuff, this is a serious management problem.”

According to Sewell, Toronto’s top cop, Chief Demkiw, is not beyond reproach.

“The Chief has not shown himself willing to actually be really tough about people who do things wrong in the police force,” Sewell said.

As an example, Sewell mentioned the trial of a man accused of murder in the death of undercover Toronto police officer Jeffrey Northrup, who was fatally struck by a vehicle in an underground parking lot on July 2, 2021.

The accused, Umar Zameer, was ultimately found not guilty of first-degree murder and the judge in the case hinted that three witness officers may have colluded in their testimony.

All three officers, including Northrup’s partner, testified that the veteran detective was standing with his hands up the moment before he was fatally struck.

That clashed with evidence from two crash reconstruction experts, prompting Superior Court Justice Anne Molloy to tell jurors they had to consider whether the three officers colluded.

After the verdict, Demkiw said he asked the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) to conduct an independent review as a result of the judge’s “adverse comments” and he also said he ordered a full internal review of all aspects of plainclothes policing.

Sewell says it was a missed chance to clamp down on officer misbehaviour that’s now ballooned into an even more egregious embarrassment.

“The judge thought that those three officers had coordinated their evidence and that they weren’t being truthful,” Sewell said. “That happened almost two years ago, the Chief has yet to report on that. Now wait a minute, if you aren’t actually going after the people that you know are doing something wrong, or a judge does, maybe there’s a big problem here.”

He also accused the Toronto Police Service (TPS) Board of cowering to the chief.

“I wish the police board was a strong one that could say ‘hey chief this is way out of control.’ But they have never done that, they’ve always adopted everything the chief has suggested so I don’t have much hope there.”

The TPS board released a statement on Thursday saying that given “the gravity of the allegations and the broader concerns they raise, the Board and Demkiw have formally requested an independent and comprehensive inspection by the Inspector General of Policing.”

“The Board believes such an inspection is necessary to provide the public with a credible and transparent assessment, and to identify any steps needed to strengthen accountability and public safety.”

In the end though, Sewell believes Toronto Police have a lot of work to do to try and regain already-withering public trust.

“The Toronto Police Service did a study last year about whether people trust the police in Toronto and the study came back saying people don’t trust the police in Toronto, it was really clear,” he added.

When asked what was most shocking about the corruption arrests announced Thursday, Sewell snapped back, “the fact that there are seven officers (allegedly) working together against the public good and against the laws of our land and that their managers didn’t manage to see it.”

Demkiw meanwhile, spoke at a press conference Thursday alongside York Regional Police (YRP) officials, calling the allegations against his officers “painful and unsettling” and insisting they don’t represent Toronto police.

“The allegations against seven Toronto Police members and one retired member are deeply disappointing. I understand this news will be distressing for Torontonians and our police service members,” Demkiw said. “The seven members have been arrested [and] have been suspended, and where appropriate, I will be seeking suspension without pay.”

“The allegations against these individuals do not represent the Toronto Police Service. They do not represent who you are. They do not represent what our organization is and stands for.”