Chief Myron Demkiw broke his silence Thursday on allegations of antisemitism and anti-black discrimination within the ranks of the Toronto Police Service.
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But is it enough?
The Chief has promised the service is taking the assertions published in retired Insp. Hank Idsinga ’s Number One selling book – The High Road: Confessions of a Homicide Cop– to heart.
“Any allegation of a Toronto Police officer being involved in any kind of racist behaviour we take very, very seriously,” the Chief said Thursday.
But are Toronto Police formally investigating? Or are they at least considering launching an investigation? It’s not clear.
And should it be them who investigate?
While doing book interviews, Idsinga has shone a light what he says he witnessed during his 34-years career, which including 18 years in the Homicide Unit, of which he retired from as commander in 2023.
He has described “vile racism in the uppermost ranks of the police service.” He said they didn’t realize his grandfather was Jewish and was exterminated in the Holocaust in 1942, so as a result, Idsinga claims he heard things that should not have been said.
Chief Demkiw said @TorontoPolice take seriously rise in antisemitic attacks and will meet Jewish liaison group today and despite @hank_idsinga declining 2b interviewed by Professional Standards, they are still looking into concerns raised in his The High Road book pic.twitter.com/qp8W6iSOqT
— Joe Warmington (@joe_warmington) April 30, 2026
He has talked of a time where an officer was allegedly watching a positive biography of a fellow cop and a “senior officer hit pause, looked at me, and said, the only reason he gets away with this is because he’s a f—ing Jew.”
The same officer allegedly went as far as to call “a kosher barbeque as a “Jew-q” as well as disparaging racial profiling of a Jewish lawyer.
Idsinga said he wonders how the tolerance of this person reflected senior managers’ decisions on how to crack down on the antisemitism that became rampant in Toronto after Oct. 7, 2023.
Some ‘Bad apples’ within Toronto Police
While he’s talked of corrupt promotions and complaint reporting protocols, Idsinga said most officers were great but there were some “bad apples.”
When this came to light last week, the service’s reaction was to protect their own and dissociate from Idsinga – questioning why he didn’t report his claims earlier while some former coworkers floated the traitorous guy just selling a book narrative.
But the veteran cop also said he didn’t have confidence the people taking complaints were not the same people who are racist. Saying there is an effort to turn the real problems “around on to me” instead of dealing with them, Idsinga told Jim Richards on Newstalk 1010 Thursday that he saw what happened to peers who went through the tainted complaints process he does not trust.
Idsinga also said toward the end of his career that he told the brass he did not want to interact with that particular senior officer and felt “ostracized” and made it understood to them in a memo that he retired because of this manager.
It’s damning stuff, which he has also said on CBC , CTV , with Greg Brady on AM 640, to Brad Hunter of the Toronto Sun, and Rosie DiManno and Kevin Donovan at the Toronto Star .
Clearly, the cat is out of the bag.
The Chief must know this is not an obscure story or non-credible source but a widely covered story on a well-respected and very credible cop once trusted with their biggest cases.
This is not going away
This is not going to be suppressed and if something similar was being said about a teacher, pilot or a coach, or if it was a complaint from a victim of sexual assault, it would be taken out of the hands of the institution accused. Yet, so far, Toronto Police are trying to handle it internally.
But for how much longer?
To the Chief’s credit, it’s no longer just TPS civilians talking about it.
Hank Idsinga (@hank_idsinga), 640Toronto crime specialist and former homicide detective, joins @gregbradyx to talk about the racism and antisemitism he experienced as detailed in his new book The High Road: Confessions of a Homicide Cop
— 640 Toronto (@am640) April 23, 2026
🔊LISTEN LIVE: https://t.co/Vj1fjOnTSH
“As you know, (police) have approached that individual as far as participating in any investigation,” which “has been declined at this point,” said Demkiw, adding, however, “I will tell you that we are examining certainly the allegations very carefully” and that he was meeting to discuss this with “our Jewish internal support network executive” on Thursday.
Results of that meeting are unknown but Demkiw said, “We are committed to making sure we are responsive to anything we find, but to be clear, any allegations of this we take very very seriously and we investigate thoroughly and completely.”
Is this enough? Should Toronto Police senior officers investigate senior officers as a result of claims from a newly retired senior officer?
Prominent Jewish organizations feel outside eyes are necessary.
Rich Robertson, director of research and advocacy for B’nai Brith Canada, feels any “investigation needs to be external, otherwise its efficacy will be brought into disrepute.”
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Idsinga nor the chief are backing down
Centre for Israel and Jewish Affairs Vice President for Ontario Michelle Stock said, “While we appreciate that the TPS has confirmed it is undertaking an investigation on their own, we expect that an independent third-party review will also take place.”
“In both cases, the Jewish community should be engaged and kept informed,” she added.
Whatever happens, like a dogged detective who can’t be pushed off the trail, Idsinga does not seem to be backing down.
And the equally strong-minded Chief – who has his hands full with the Project South alleged police corruption probe as well as trying to enhance deployments to fight rising antisemitism – isn’t buckling either.
But can Denkiw control this internally much longer or will the Toronto Police Board, Mayor Olivia Chow, Premier Doug Ford or Ontario’s Inspector General for Policing step in to ensure transparency and truth occurs?