The Toronto Police Department closes the bar at headquarters

A fully stocked licensed bar in a senior officer lounge at Toronto Police Headquarters will be closed, police confirmed to CBC Toronto on Sunday. The decision comes after CBC Toronto reported that an officer entered the lounge hours before he was charged with drunk driving.

The chief’s office and the Executive Officers Lounge Committee informed senior officers in May that the bar’s liquor license would not be renewed, a police spokesman said in an email. Police have not linked the closure to CBC’s report or the drunk driving charges filed against Supt. Riyaz Hussein.

According to the Alcohol and Gaming Commission of Ontario (AGCO), the Executive Officers Lounge was first licensed at its headquarters at 40 College St. in 1989.

“In the future, the agency will apply for a special occasion permit from the AGCO, should we decide to organize an event where alcohol may be served,” said the spokesman.

According to the AGCO website, a special occasion license is required when liquor is offered for sale anywhere other than a licensed establishment.

In April, a CBC Toronto investigation reported that Supt. Riyaz Hussein entered the lounge about three hours before his service-issued SUV crashed into another vehicle in Pickering, Ontario, and was charged with drunk driving in January 2022. he drank in the room.

Hussein, who headed the police disciplinary tribunal, pleaded guilty in October 2022 to driving with a blood alcohol level of more than 80 milligrams per 100 milliliters of blood in connection with the crash. He was sentenced to a one-year driving ban and a $1,560 fine.

Police said the alcohol license was used infrequently, “largely for formal occasions such as retirement or when entertaining dignitaries.”

The Toronto Police Association supports the decision, Jon Reid, its president, said in an emailed statement.

“It has always been our strong desire that commanders and senior officers lead by example in both their actions and their accountability,” Reid said.

The civilian agency that oversees the police was not involved in the decision, Toronto Police Services Board chair Ann Morgan said in an emailed statement to CBC News on Sunday.