In defending himself against 15 disciplinary charges, PC Party Leader Doug Ford’s police officer son-in-law has retained a lawyer who defended members of the so-called Freedom Convoy.
On Tuesday, staff sergeant Earnest “Dave” Haynes appeared before a Toronto Police Service disciplinary tribunal hearing related to multiple charges against him for discreditable conduct, breach of confidence and insubordination.
The disciplinary tribunal is a forum where officers and the force have the opportunity to dispute allegations of serious breaches of the police code of conduct.
Before the matter could be heard, however, it was adjourned until April.
Haynes is married to Krista Ford Haynes, the eldest daughter of PC Party Leader Doug Ford, who is campaigning provincewide for another term as Ontario’s premier.
In January, less than 48 hours before her father called a provincial election, Krista launched a GoFundMe, aimed at raising $100,000 to cover the cost of independent counsel for her husband in his battle with his employer.
In disciplinary hearings, police are typically represented by lawyers associated with the Toronto Police Association, the city’s police officers’ union.
However, in the GoFundMe post, Krista claimed the union would not have represented her husband fairly because of the couple’s “unique political affiliations and other bonafide reasons.”
At the hearing on Tuesday, Haynes was represented by Bath-Sheba van den Berg, a lawyer with Calgary-based Egronomy Law.
In 2022, van den Berg represented Freedom Convoy protestors and non-profit Freedom Corp. during the Public Order Emergency Commission hearings into the federal government’s use of the Emergencies Act.
Van den Berg has also acted on behalf of a police officer accused of disciplinary infractions. In 2023, she was counsel for an Ottawa police officer accused of improperly accessing records to investigate the COVID-19 vaccination status of parents of a child who had died.
Haynes sent Ford’s daughter more than 60 work-related emails: Charges
In the charges against Haynes, the Toronto Police Service contends the officer sent dozens of work-related emails to his wife Krista, communicated about internal police business via Instagram and sent a mass email to colleagues, which the service alleges “undermined” the police chief.
Between Nov. 2020 and Jan. 2024, Haynes allegedly sent Krista 79 emails using his work email, 61 of which had “some direct connection” to his official duties as a police officer, according to a notice of hearing statement viewed by TorontoToday.
The statement alleges that by sending those emails to his spouse, Haynes engaged in discreditable conduct by acting in a "disorderly manner," in a manner “prejudicial to discipline” or in a manner “likely to bring discredit upon the reputation of the Toronto Police Service.”
One of those emails — which Haynes first sent to his superiors Superintendent Ron Taverner and Acting Superintendent Anthony Paoletta — had the subject line “Sexual Assault.” Haynes allegedly sent that email, which contained confidential information, to “the complainant,” who was not authorized to receive it.
According to the charges, he also sent the “Sexual Assault” email and confidential package to a law student and his spouse, Krista.
TorontoToday attempted to contact Haynes through his lawyer to inquire about the allegations, but did not receive a response prior to publication.
The Toronto Police Service has also charged Haynes with insubordination and discreditable conduct for having posted an Instagram video of himself last February where he discussed a work-related complaint that had been lodged against him.
In the video, Haynes — a prolific Instagram poster — told his thousands of followers he suffered a demotion following, but not related to, the complaint. He also alleged he had received no support from the TPS nor the Toronto Police Association when dealing with the matter.
In an emailed statement in January, a TPS spokesperson told TorontoToday Haynes had been “reassigned” to a position with the Toronto Police College. Asked on Tuesday about the rationale for the reassignment, a TPS spokesperson said the information could not be provided.
In 2021, Haynes was suspended by the force over his refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccination. At the time, TPS was one of a number of public employers, including the City of Toronto and TTC, that instituted vaccination mandates.
It is not clear whether Haynes’ refusal to get the COVID-19 vaccination impacted his placement within the force.
In the February 2024 video, Haynes claimed TPS staff don’t speak up because they “get punished” and are provided with “zero support.”
In having posted the video, TPS alleges Haynes disclosed confidential information in violation of the service’s policies.
Additionally, the TPS alleges that Haynes engaged in discreditable conduct by having sent a mass email to colleagues that undermined the chief’s position on a policing matter.
The email was sent to about 250 staff members across 22 Division and 31 Division in Dec. 2023.
“In the email you expressed your personal opinion relating to policing matters; you were critical of some of the Service’s initiatives and direction taken in certain areas,” said the statement notice about the charge, obtained by TorontoToday.
“This undermined the Chief’s and Commands position.”
Police union lawyers normally represent cops
Police union lawyers typically represent cops during criminal and labour cases, including disciplinary hearings. However, in the GoFundMe post, Krista said the couple was pursuing independent counsel out of concern the union could not provide her husband with “unbiased” representation.
Toronto Police Association president Clayton Campbell said in an emailed statement in January that he could not comment directly on the Haynes case nor the allegations made in the GoFundMe post.
However, he said the union “provides dedica[ted], professional legal support to its members” drawn from a roster of over a dozen lawyers trained in matters related to the Community Safety and Policing Act.
“We work closely with our selected roster because there are sector-wide implications that result from matters involving our members,” Campbell said. “Not only do we want the best possible outcome for any individual member, but we want case law and precedent-setting decisions to positively impact other members, present and future.”
As of Tuesday, the GoFundMe fundraising campaign for Haynes’ legal fees had raised less than a fifth of its target, netting about $18,400.
In a Feb. 1 update on the GoFundMe, Krista said that because of the support the fundraiser had received, they were “moving forward with outside legal counsel to support a fair and unbiased as possible [sic] first hearing.”
Case adjourned until April
On Tuesday, van den Berg said she had recently been retained by Haynes to act on his behalf in the disciplinary proceedings.
Van den Berg said she had requested an adjournment of the cases against Haynes so she could have the necessary time to get up to speed on the files.
TPS agreed. The charges against Haynes will now be heard on April 8.
