Inspector at Toronto police’s 55 Division faces impaired operation charges

A high-ranking officer from the Toronto police’s 55 Division on Coxwell Avenue has been charged in connection with an alleged impaired operation incident early this week.

CP24 News first reported the story on Monday.

According to a police statement, officers were sent to the area of Eglinton Avenue and Laird Drive in Leaside at approximately 6 a.m. on Sunday, Oct. 4. Officers found a man allegedly asleep behind the wheel of an unmarked police-issue vehicle.

Insp. Michael Hayles, 51, was charged with impaired operation/conveyance and impaired operation/conveyance/exceed blood alcohol concentration.

Hayles, who is second in command at East Toronto’s 55 Division, is a 30-year veteran of the Toronto Police Service. He was off duty at the time of the incident, a police statement said.

In a statement on X (formerly Twitter), Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw said Hayles had been suspended with pay under the rules of the Community Safety and Policing Act.

“On Sunday, Inspector Michael Hayles, a senior officer, was arrested and charged with offences related to impaired driving,” said Demkiw in the Oct. 5 statement.

“Given that charges have been laid, it would be inappropriate for me to comment further on the specifics of the case. However, I can confirm that Inspector Hayles was off duty at the time of the alleged incident. I want to be clear, no member of the Toronto Police Service, regardless of rank, is above the law. The public rightly expects our members to maintain the highest standards of conduct, both on and off duty.”

Demkiw also said in the statement that any allegation of “wrongdoing involving a sworn police officer is taken seriously, and we will always respond swiftly and in accordance with the law.”