Toronto cop allegedly sold confidential police data to criminal associate without regard for harm

A Toronto police constable allegedly sold confidential police database information to a civilian associate and stated he did not care if individuals were harmed by the information he disclosed, according to court records unsealed Wednesday in the Project South corruption investigation.

Const. Timothy Barnhardt allegedly ran unauthorized searches on the Ministry of Transportation server 17 times while off-duty in the first six months of last year. Police-intercepted communications show Barnhardt "routinely sold confidential database information to known criminal associate Brian Da Costa, often at Da Costa's direction," according to the investigation file.

The probe began in June 2025 after York Regional Police thwarted an alleged plot to kill a senior corrections official from Toronto South Detention Centre. Barnhardt allegedly ran an unauthorized licence-plate search on the official less than a month before the attempted hit and shared confidential information about them with Da Costa. The official's identity is covered by a publication ban for their safety.

Barnhardt and Da Costa are both in custody facing several charges that have not been tested in court. Ontario Superior Court Justice Laura Bird lifted the publication ban Wednesday on court documents supporting more than 50 warrants in Project South, ruling that media access to the records "strikes an appropriate balance between the court openness principle and the fair trial rights of the criminal defendants."

The investigation has resulted in charges against seven Toronto police officers, one retired officer, and 19 civilians. One officer retired and pleaded guilty to two charges in July. HighOnCity reported in September that an officer from the investigation was attempting to plead guilty, and that the corruption trial was proceeding for other Toronto cops.