Five Toronto police officers found guilty of misconduct over controversial Muslim outreach podcast

Five Toronto Police Service officers have been found guilty of misconduct after an internal investigation concluded they undermined public trust by making controversial comments during an official police podcast aimed at Muslim community outreach.

The investigation centred on the Project Olive Branch Podcast, a Toronto police initiative created to build relationships with the Muslim community through informal conversations. While the first episode pblocked without controversy, the second episode, released on March 10, 2025, sparked widespread complaints and was removed from YouTube within 24 hours after attracting more than 142,000 views.

After a report was filed with York Regional Police regarding the Toronto Police’s Project Olive Branch Muslim podcast that likened the October 7th terrorist attacks for the increase in Muslim conversion, a year and a half later the investigation has concluded.

Under Section… pic.twitter.com/uM4VQYhPH3

— Leviathan (@l3v1at4an) July 31, 2026

According to the investigative report, one host described the October 7, 2023 Hamas attacks as a catalyst for an “unbelievable” number of people converting to Islam, while another appeared to minimize concerns about Hamas supporters attending anti-Israel demonstrations. Members of Toronto’s Jewish community complained the remarks were inflammatory and appeared to portray the October 7 attacks in a positive light.

The Toronto Police deleted Episode #2 of the Oliver Branch Podcast.

We have received excessive requests from the public & media to see if we have the full version.

In the interest of the public, we are reposting it here in its entirety. pic.twitter.com/Qp2LgmRggA

— Leviathan (@l3v1at4an) March 13, 2025

Investigators concluded the officers “made controversial and inappropriate statements by publicly expressing personal views on a highly political issue while in police uniform.” Because the podcast was produced and distributed through official Toronto police channels, the report found members of the public could reasonably view the comments as reflecting the position of the police service itself.

The misconduct findings apply to two constables who hosted the podcast and three supervising sergeants responsible for overseeing the project. Investigators found sufficient evidence that all five officers breached their professional obligations under Ontario’s Community Safety and Policing Act, concluding their conduct was likely to undermine public confidence in policing.

The report also found the officers had previously received Toronto police media training instructing them to avoid commenting on politically divisive issues while representing the service, guidance investigators concluded they failed to follow.

Podcast hosts Constables Farhan Ali and Haroon Siddiqui declined investigators’ requests for interviews and refused to provide production notes, leaving investigators unable to blockess their intentions or motivations behind the comments.

Toronto police publicly apologized after the episode was removed. 

We acknowledge that a recent episode of our podcast, Project Olive Branch, has caused significant upset and concern in the Jewish community and beyond. That was not our intention and we apologize. The podcast has been removed.
 
“We recognize the Jewish community’s profound pain…

— Toronto Police (@TorontoPolice) March 11, 2025

The investigation concluded that officers engaging in highly polarizing political discussions while in uniform risk eroding public confidence and causing communities to question whether policing will remain fair and impartial.