One of the Toronto police officers charged as part of Project South pleaded guilty to two of the charges against him and will serve a 10-month conditional sentence.
Former police const. Derek McCormick was arrested and charged in February as part of the wide-ranging corruption investigation spurred after the attempted murder of a Toronto jail guard.
He was charged with four counts of theft under $5,000, one count of breach of the trust by a public officer and another count of obstruction of justice.
At the time, York Regional Police alleged his involvement in Project South centred on his participation in the theft of personal property from a police facility. The personal property allegedly included driver’s licences, health cards and passports. A “substantial amount” of it was recovered.
McCormick pleaded guilty to two charges: theft under $5,000 for stealing a cellphone and breach of trust by stealing “found property.” The remaining charges were withdrawn.
“He thought it was the right thing to do, so he did it,” McCormick’s lawyer Gary Clewley told reporters outside the court. “I think he wanted to acknowledge that what he did was wrong and, as you heard today … he stepped up and took his punishment.”
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McCormick will serve his conditional sentence under house arrest.
“He’s under house arrest, then under curfew, then he gets on with his life,” Clewley said.
A spokesperson for Toronto police confirmed to Global News McCormick resigned as a police officer last month.
His arrest was part of a much broader police corruption investigation that alleged links between Ryan Wedding’s drug network, police officers and even jail guards.
Project South began after the alleged attempted murder of a high-ranking employee at the Toronto South Detention Centre in June 2025.
York Regional Police wrote in a recent, partially unsealed court document that their investigation “demonstrates a broader pattern of corruption, misuse of police authority, and facilitation of criminal activity.”
As part of the investigation, it is alleged that Const. Timothy Barnhardt and other Toronto police officers tapped into unauthorized information.
“In short, the investigation has uncovered a number of police officers who, at the request of their civilian associations, improperly accessed confidential police databases, retrieved sensitive information … and then disclosed that information,” York Regional Police alleged.
“Collectively, these matters demonstrate a broader pattern of corruption, misuse of police authority, and facilitation of criminal activity linked to the primary investigation.”
Clewley said McCormick had no links to the broader alleged conspiracy.
“(He) doesn’t have one; he had nothing to do with that,” he said. “He got roped in by that guy, but he’s got nothing to do with that.”
–with files from Global News’ Catherine McDonald
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