Follows controversy of officer charged with impaired driving
The Toronto Police Service is closing the licensed fully stocked bar inside a lounge for senior officers that is located inside its headquarters.
In May this year, the police chief's office and Executive Officers Lounge Committee notified senior officers that the bar's liquor licence would not be renewed, CBC reported, citing an email from a police spokesperson.
"Moving forward, the service will apply for a special occasions permit (SOP) from the AGCO should we decide to host an event where alcohol may be served," the spokesperson said.
The lounge was first issued a liquor licence at the 40 College St. headquarters in 1989, according to the report.
An SOP is required any time liquor is offered for sale anywhere other than in a liquor-licenced establishment, according to AGCO.
Officer charged for impaired driving charge
In April, the Toronto police faced controversy over the licensed, fully stocked bar inside its headquarters after a police officer was charged with impaired driving.
Supt. Riyaz Hussein, who headed the service's disciplinary tribunal, pleaded guilty to driving with a blood alcohol level over 80 mg per 100 ml of blood in connection to a crash in January 2022.
The crash happened on a highway roughly 38 kilometres from police headquarters.
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While it’s unclear whether Hussein got drunk at the bar inside the headquarters, he did enter the bar at 4:31 p.m. on the day of the incident, according to a previous CBC report. By 7:39 p.m. that evening Hussein had crashed into a delivery truck in a Toronto suburb and had been assessed by paramedics.
John Sewell, co-ordinator of the Toronto Police Accountability Coalition, expressed his surprise about the presence of the bar, in the report.
"I'm absolutely astounded they've got a bar in this government building," he said. "This is a public service. I'm not aware of any other public service that has a bar in it — and yet the police do."
Previously, in the United Kingdom, the Industrial Relations Commission of New South Wales (IRC) agreed with two police officers who claimed they were subjected to unreasonable disciplinary action following a physical fight at a police residence. “Alcohol was consumed by both officers and their wives throughout the event,” the IRC noted.