Toronto police officers arrested in Spain will be paid while suspended, force confirms

Three Toronto police officers arrested after a sex worker was allegedly hurt and sexually assaulted while vacationing in Barcelona will all be paid while they are suspended, the force has confirmed.

The Mossos d’Esquadra, the police force of Catalonia, Spain, previously confirmed three officers had been arrested while travelling in the country, adding that the alleged incident happened in a taxi.

Global News has since confirmed through sources that the three officers are Evan Glennie, Rich Rand and Caglar Yigit.

The three men were arrested on May 15.

A spokesperson for Toronto police said they would be suspended under rules in the Community Safety and Policing Act, adding they would receive their salaries while they are suspended.

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“The Service will explore the breadth of the Act and legal thresholds to consider suspension without pay,” the spokesperson said.

2:09 City councillors demand accountability following latest Toronto Police scandal

One of the officers was suspended when they arrived back in Canada. The other two are expected to be suspended when they return home.

Coun. Shelley Carroll, chair of the Toronto Police Services Board, laid down a marker for Toronto Police Services Chief Myron Demkiwin a statement.

“At a time when public confidence must be continually reinforced, people also need to see visible leadership and a clear commitment to strengthening the culture and standards of the Service,” she wrote.

“I expect the Chief and Service leadership to demonstrate the actions necessary to maintain the trust the public places in the Service.”

Toronto Mayor Olivia Chow said that, if the officers were found guilty, they “should be punished” during an unrelated news conference on Tuesday.

“Public trust in policing is fundamental,” she told reporters. “The police chief has quite a bit of work to earn back the trust of the folks, and also by rooting out any officers that have allegedly committed any kind of wrongdoing.”

— With files from Global News’ Tracy Tong and Aaron D’Andrea