A senior Toronto police officer has been charged with impaired driving after he was found asleep behind the wheel over the weekend in Leaside, sources tell CP24. Insp. Mike Hayles, 51, of 55 Division, was arrested at around 6 a.m. on Sunday. Sources have told CP24 that officers were dispatched to the scene after Hayles was found asleep behind the wheel of his unmarked police-issued vehicle near the intersection of Eglinton Avenue and Laird Drive. In a statement to CP24, a Toronto police spokesperson said that Hayles was off-duty at the time of his arrest. He was charged with Impaired operation/conveyance and impaired operation/conveyance/exceed blood alcohol concentration. Hayles has been a member of the Toronto Police Service for 30 years and is second in command at 55 division. He has been suspended with pay in accordance with the Community Safety and Policing Act. In a statement posted to X, Toronto Police Chief Myron Demkiw confirmed the arrest and said that “given that criminal charges have been laid, it would be inappropriate for me to comment on the specifics of the case, however I can confirm that Inps. 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 confirmed that Hayles was suspended with pay in accordance to the Community Safety and Policing Act. “Any allegation of wrongdoing involving a sworn police officer is taken seriously, and we will always respond swiftly and in accordance with the law,” he said.
