The Badge as a Liability
AI-generated image · Bay Street Wire
When a 30-year veteran and second-in-command is found asleep at the wheel, the 'professionalism' of the force is measured by how they handle their own.
Opinion: There is a specific kind of betrayal that occurs when the individuals entrusted with the safety of our streets treat those same streets like a personal cocktail lounge. When the law is not merely bent but ignored by those paid to enforce it, the badge ceases to be a shield for the public and becomes a liability.
According to reporting from CBC Toronto and CityNews Toronto, Insp. Michael Hayles, a 51-year-old officer with 30 years of service, was arrested early Sunday morning. The incident unfolded around 6 a.m. in the Leaside area, specifically near Eglinton Avenue E. and Laird Drive, where officers responded to a call regarding a person found asleep behind the wheel of a stopped vehicle.
Hayles, who was off duty at the time and serves as the second in command at 55 Division, now faces two counts of impaired driving. According to the Toronto Police Service, he is charged with impaired operation of a conveyance and impaired operation of a conveyance with a blood alcohol level over 80 milligrams per 100 millilitres of blood.
While the legal process unfolds, the administrative response is where the friction lies. Toronto Police spokesperson Nadine Ramadan confirmed via email that Hayles has been suspended with pay, a move Ramadan stated is in keeping with Ontario's Community Safety and Policing Act.
For the average citizen, the concept of 'suspended with pay' while facing impaired driving charges feels like a slap in the face to the community. Yet, the Toronto Police Association (TPA) is framing this as a victory for institutional integrity. TPA President Clayton Campbell noted that while the association has no comment on Hayles specifically because he is a member of the Senior Officers Organization, the act of arresting a superior officer is a testament to the force's character. Campbell stated that no officer wants to arrest a colleague, especially one several ranks above them, and argued that the situation demonstrates the "professionalism" of the members and their willingness to do what is right.
Professionalism is not defined by the reluctant arrest of a high-ranking official for a crime that puts the public at risk; it is defined by the standards held before the arrest becomes necessary. When a veteran leader of the force is found incapacitated in a vehicle, the issue isn't just one man's judgment—it's a question of the culture that allows such a lapse in responsibility.
If the badge is to mean anything in this city, it cannot be a cloak of immunity or a guarantee of a paid vacation while facing criminal charges. The public deserves a police force that doesn't just 'do what is right' when caught, but lives by those standards every single day.