Mayor John Tory is calling for an independent review of the Toronto Police Service’s handling of missing persons cases and the circumstances surrounding the investigation into Bruce McArthur as new details emerge about previous contact police had with the alleged serial killer.

Acknowledging there are many “unanswered questions” in the case, Tory said he will ask the Toronto police board to commission an outside investigation to seek answers in “a methodical, independent way” — a request the board chair seconded Wednesday.

The call for an outside probe comes two days after Toronto police launched an internal investigation into what the lead homicide investigator says was “concerning” information that he became aware of.

The Star has learned that McArthur, now accused of killing six men dating back to 2010, was questioned by police in 2016 regarding an allegation that he was physically abusive to someone. He was let go. Homicide detectives currently probing this case did not know about the 2016 questioning until after McArthur’s arrest in January, according to sources familiar with the incident.

Last week, Det.-Sgt Hank Idsinga prepared a report and sent it to the Toronto police professional standards unit for an internal probe regarding “the actions of some officers in a previous occurrence (who), I am led to believe … potentially did not do what they were supposed to have done, according to our policies and our procedures,” Idsinga told the Star on Wednesday.

“And that’s something that should be investigated and I’m not the one to investigate that, so I prepared the report and I forwarded it to professional standards and they are now conducting that investigation,” Idsinga said. He would not disclose any details about the report sent to police internal investigators.

Share your thoughts

It is unclear whether Toronto police also spoke to McArthur, in any capacity, during Project Houston, an investigation into three missing men that began in November 2012 and was closed 18 months later because there was “no evidence to suggest criminal activity,” according to police.

Idsinga would not comment on any past interactions between police and McArthur, who had a 2003 conviction for assaulting a man with a pipe and had been barred from the Gay Village and associating with male prostitutes for a period of time (the Star has confirmed McArthur later received a pardon for the conviction).

Toronto police have said that during Project Houston, a dozen full-time investigators worked for “thousands of hours,” including interviewing dozens of witnesses, who voluntarily spoke to police.

McArthur, 66, is facing six charges of first-degree murder in the deaths of men who began disappearing from the area of the Church-Wellesley Village in 2010. He is charged in the deaths of Andrew Kinsman, 49; Selim Esen, 44; Majeed Kayhan, 59; Soroush Mahmudi, 50; Dean Lisowick, 47; and Skandaraj “Skanda” Navaratnam, 40.

Navaratnam and Kayhan disappeared between 2010 and 2012. Mahmudi, Lisowick, Esen and Kinsman disappeared between 2015 and June 2017, right before the launch of Toronto police’s Project Prism, which culminated in the McArthur’s arrest earlier this year.

On Monday, police held a news conference and took the rare step of releasing a photo of a deceased man they believe to be a seventh victim. Idsinga said police decided to publicize the photo in the hope that someone can identify him.

Speaking in Ottawa on Wednesday, Tory said he was pushing for a review into Toronto police policies, procedures, protocols, training and more that relate to missing persons investigations. He also called for the review to examine “any systemic concerns” — including any “differentiated treatment or bias” including but not limited to the LBGTQ communities.

The proposed external review would be in addition to the ongoing internal Toronto police investigation into how their officers probe missing persons cases. Tory will request the review at the Toronto police board meeting later this month, supported by board chair Andy Pringle.

“We want to make sure that everything is done,” Pringle said Wednesday, calling the magnitude of the McArthur case “unprecedented.”

Read more:

Toronto’s gay community shocked in the wake of McArthur investigation revelations

Bruce McArthur was previously questioned, released by police in separate incident

Tips pour in after police release grim photo of man believed to be victim of alleged serial killer Bruce McArthur

The red tape behind the Bruce McArthur tapes

Toronto police spokesperson Meaghan Gray told the Star in a statement Tuesday night that the chief has always said, “if we come across issues that need addressing, we would not wait. We would act as soon as practical.”

Tory’s call for an external probe came as a recommendation from representatives of the LGBTQ community, including the Alliance for South Asian Aids Prevention (ASAAP), and he thanked them for their “leadership, strength and collaboration.”

Shakir Rahim, an ASAAP board member, said he hopes positive steps come from an outside probe.

“Bottom line is, obviously there has to be change,” Rahim said.

McArthur’s arrest in January followed years of missing persons reports and suspicions in and around the Gay Village that a serial killer was at work. In November 2012, police convened a task force dubbed Project Houston to examine the disappearance into three missing men (Kayhan, Navaratnam and Abdulbasir Faizi, 44).

In a CTV W5 report last month, a man who said he used to date Kayhan — CTV protected his identity — said he last saw Kayhan with McArthur, information he shared with police after Kayhan’s 2012 disappearance.

Idsinga said he couldn’t confirm police received the tip.

In July 2017, after the more recent disappearances of Kinsman and Esen, police launched Project Prism, the ongoing investigation that is now focused on McArthur.

Councillor Kristyn Wong-Tam, Toronto’s only openly gay councillor and the representative for the Church-Wellesley area, said an independent review must examine “the adequacy and effectiveness of the way Toronto police handle missing persons cases,” especially gay men who vanished when, police say, McArthur killed them, Wong-Tam said.

Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading... Loading...

“I'm no longer surprised by the incidents that are coming forward about the police investigation and what transpired,” she added. She says there was “obvious” police mishandling of the investigation.

“It may not have been wilful but rather just incompetence. It correlates to what people in our community said, that they came forward to police with pieces of the puzzle but the investigators didn’t follow up, didn't put those pieces together,” she said.

The results are “tragic,” Wong-Tam said, leaving a neighbourhood to wonder how many lives could have been saved by an earlier arrest.

With files from David Rider, Vjosa Isai and Star archive

McArthur timeline

April 2003: Bruce McArthur, now 66, is convicted of assault for hitting a man with a metal pipe. He is barred from the gay Village and prohibited from spending time with “male prostitutes.”

Sept. 6, 2010: Skandaraj “Skanda” Navaratnam, 40, disappears.

Dec. 29, 2010: Abdulbasir Faizi, 42, disappears.

Oct. 14, 2012: Majeed Kayhan, 59, disappears.

November 2012: Police commence Project Houston.

April 2014: Project Houston is shut down.

August 2015: Soroush Mahmudi, 50, disappears.

Sometime in 2016: McArthur is questioned by police regarding an allegation that he was physically abusive, according to a source. He is let go.

2016 or 2017: Dean Lisowick, 47, disappears.

April 14, 2017: Selim Esen, 44, disappears.

June 26, 2017: Andrew Kinsman, 49, disappears.

July 2017: Project Prism is launched into the disappearances of Kinsman and Esen.

Jan. 18, 2018: McArthur is arrested and charged with the murders of Esen and Kinsman.

Jan. 29, 2018: McArthur is charged with the murders of Kayhan, Mahmudi and Lisowick.

Feb. 23, 2018: McArthur is charged with the murder of Navaratnam.

March 5, 2018: Police release the photo of an unidentified deceased man who they believe is the seventh victim of McArthur.

March 5, 2018: Police launch an internal investigation after receiving "concerning" information. The Star confirms that homicide detectives probing McArthur only recently found out about his 2016 questioning. Lead homicide investigator Det. Sgt. Hank Idsinga says that he prepared a report for Toronto police’s Professional Standards unit, after regarding “the actions of some officers in a previous occurrence (who), I am led to believe ... potentially did not do what they were supposed to have done, according to our policies and our procedures.”

Read more about: