Hank Idsinga, former head of homicide for the Toronto Police Service, says he has 'developed an innate ability to take chaos under control.'EDUARDO LIMA/The Globe and Mail
Wherever Hank Idsinga drives around 14 Division, an area in west downtown Toronto that encompasses the charming restaurants of Little Italy, the eclectic streets of Parkdale and the popular Trinity Bellwoods Park, he can recall a story from his time as a cop.
The former head of homicide for the Toronto Police Service shares some of them in his new memoir, The High Road: Confessions of a Homicide Cop. But he also provides a rare, behind-the-scenes look at the force, including allegations of antisemitism and racism among senior officers.
Idsinga, now retired, spoke to The Globe and Mail about a case that haunts him, what it takes to be a good cop and the Project South corruption scandal embroiling Toronto police.
You’ve worked close to 80 murder investigations and had a high rate of solved cases. What are some key lessons you’ve learned throughout your 34 years of experience?
I’ve developed an innate ability to take chaos under control. To be able to investigate a homicide successfully, it needs management and leadership. Every single time the phone rings in homicide it’s a crisis.
A tangible way the job stays with you when you’re not in the field is through the recurring smells you describe in the book. Can you tell me more about that?
When someone brings up a case, it’s something that’s ingrained into your senses and brain – you can visualize and smell it. Like right now, when you talk about a particular scene from years ago, I can still smell that just as fresh. Sometimes, it gets into your lungs, nostrils, nose hairs, and if you burp the smell comes back up.
In the case of Bruce McArthur, a serial killer who murdered eight men he met in Toronto’s Gay Village neighbourhood, what went through your head as you saw that grisly evidence?
I had this overwhelming sense of anger, and I’m not an angry guy. At the same time, it was a sense of relief because it meant our charges were going to stick. But to this day, I cannot read the victim impact statement from Meaghan Marian, a friend of Andrew Kinsman who was one of McArthur’s victims. It brings a flood of memories.
Idsinga holds a press conference on the Barry and Honey Sherman murder case in Toronto in 2019.Aaron Vincent Elkaim/The Canadian Press
“Illegitimi non carborundum,” which translates to “Don’t let the bastards grind you down” in mock-Latin, was the 14th Division’s motto. In the book, you said you figured out who the motto is about. Can you share your thoughts?
Everybody interprets it differently. Some constables might think it’s the criminals on the streets. For me, the people who did grind me down were some of the senior officers in the organization.
I have hundreds of pages of material about dysfunction in senior officers – racism, tyrannical behaviour, narcissism and misogyny. I could’ve probably had a book ready to go in a few weeks, but a friend of mine said, “You might want to take the high road on that.” It turned into a legacy piece that I wrote from the mindset as if I’m talking to my grandchildren, because I never got to meet my grandfather who died in the Holocaust.
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In recent months, the public’s trust in the TPS was shaken, with revelations in the Project South probe leading to seven officers and a retired officer facing criminal charges for allegedly breaching police databases and leaking that information to organized crime figures. How did you hear about the allegations? Were you surprised?
I was not surprised. A reporter broke the news to me. I think there’s corruption and misconduct from all the way up. Don’t think for a second it’s only seven bad apples in the entire police service. It’ll be interesting to see how it plays out, because they haven’t been convicted of anything yet.
But it becomes an issue for the public where they’ll question how much value they’re getting for guys who are doing that. You can’t have that. Every single transaction and interaction between a member of the public service needs to be handled professionally, diligently and without bias. You do not create a blanket umbrella of public trusts.
What advice would you give to a young adult who is thinking about becoming a police officer?
If you’re going to do it, do it properly. It’s hard to be a cop, it’s even harder to be a good cop. If you take a shortcut, it equals a bad day in court. You think getting chastised by a supervisor is bad, but being chastised by some of the best defence lawyers in the country and the strictest judges – that is a bad day. Take the extra time and put effort into it.
This interview has been edited and condensed.