Doug Ford's son-in-law facing misconduct charges from Toronto Police Service

Toronto police Staff Sgt. Ernest "Dave" Haynes — the husband of Krista Ford Haynes and son-in-law of Ontario PC Leader Doug Ford — is facing multiple police act charges over alleged discreditable conduct, breach of trust and insubordination.

Haynes made a brief first appearance before a police tribunal Tuesday, with documents laying out the charges he faces, stemming from his work in west-end Toronto's 22 Division. 

Many of the allegations pertain to e-mails and social media posts allegedly written by Haynes that either share confidential police information or criticize TPS leadership and policies. None of those charges has yet been heard by the tribunal.

CBC Toronto has reached out to Haynes's lawyer, Bath-Shéba van den Berg, his wife, and the PC leader, but did not immediately receive a response.

In one of the incidents outlined in tribunal documents, Haynes is alleged to have shared an email in late 2023 containing confidential police information regarding a sexual assault investigation with the complainant in the case. He later forwarded the e-mail to his wife and a law student, according to a notice of hearing.

Another allegation contained in the hearing documents outlines an Instagram post from Haynes' personal account from last February, which begins with the words "FOR ALL OF THOSE who wonder why police officers don't speak up. They get punished with zero support."

The post then goes on to describe a complaint that had been brought against Haynes — information the tribunal documents say he was not authorized to share.

"Your account of the situation was not accurate, you were not demoted, nor did you "lose" your vacation hours. Your statements disparaged the Service," reads the notice. 

Haynes hires outside lawyer

Police officers appearing before the disciplinary tribunal are usually represented by a lawyer provided by the officers' union. Instead, Haynes has retained an outside lawyer, Bath-Shéba van den Berg.

According to a crowdfunding campaign launched by Ford Haynes last month, hiring outside legal representation was necessary because of concerns about fairness "based on our unique political affiliation among other bonafide reasons." 

"There are many reasons in my eyes as to why we should be provided an opportunity to have unbiased, out of province and unaffiliated with the Toronto Police Association and/or The Toronto Police Service third party counsel to see the disclosures," she wrote. 

As of Tuesday, the crowdfunding campaign has raised more than $18,000 dollars.

Van den Berg, Haynes's new lawyer, had previously represented Freedom Convoy protestors during the Public Order Emergency Commission hearings in 2022, which looked into the federal government's use of the Emergencies Act. 

Both Haynes and Ford Haynes have been critical of COVID-19 vaccine mandates, which Doug Ford has previously said lead to division within his family. 

In an Instagram post from Feb. 1 in which she discussed the hiring of van den Berg, Ford Haynes said that the TPS proceeding is not directly related to defying vaccine mandates, but rather is "indirectly related to not complying with the mandates. It's all part and parcel."

Haynes has yet to enter a plea on any of his charges. He is set to appear before the tribunal again on April 8.