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The identity of the guard at the Toronto South Detention Centre is protected by a publication ban.Mark Blinch/The Globe and Mail
A Toronto correctional officer who was allegedly targeted in a botched hit that sparked a sweeping police corruption investigation says that the attempt to kill him at his home has left him afraid for his life.
“I’ve been away from the institution for a year now, unfortunately,” the correctional officer said during testimony at Ontario Superior Court of Justice in Toronto on Wednesday.
The identity of the guard at the Toronto South Detention Centre is protected by a publication ban. He appeared in court blocked from public view by a series of six-foot grey fabric screens spanning the entire length of a courtroom.
The jail guard’s testimony marked his first public comments about Project South, which has focused on allegations that Toronto police officers engaged in a range of illegal conduct, including selling information to criminals who sent gunmen to the guard’s house.
Wednesday’s hearing was for an unrelated case in which an inmate at the jail is seeking a stay on gun-trafficking charges over what he alleges were cruel conditions at the jail. The guard denied those allegations.
In an affidavit filed in court to support heightened security measures that were put in place during his testimony, the jail guard emphasized that he still does not know who ordered the hit against him.
“I do not want my appearance to be seen by the accused or any members of the public,” he said in his affidavit. He said that there were two attempts on his life at his home last year. “Although a year has passed since the incident, it continues to have a profound impact on me and requiring vigilance concerning my safety.”
Cases of police officers facing charges in Project South probe expected to go directly to trial in Superior Court
The jail guard’s affidavit says that the people who conspired against him have considerable reach. “I understand that not all those who conspired to kill me have been charged or identified,” he said in his affidavit. “As part of Project South, a police officer was charged with bribery and use of police computer to leak my home address to those who wanted to kill me.”
The jail guard said he always made it his mission to control contraband within the correctional system.
He described himself as an enthusiastic worker and team player who always went to great, but appropriate, lengths to stop weapons and drugs.
“I follow policy. My job is not to create policy,” the jail guard testified in court, denying allegations that he has at times gone overboard in his searches of inmates.
In February, York Regional Police commanders announced that the Project South bust began with the alleged attack against the jail guard and later led them to lay criminal charges against seven serving Toronto Police officers and one retired officer.
The police suspect who faces the most charges, Constable Timothy Barnhardt, stands accused of leaking the jail guard’s address data to organized-crime figures.
The other arrested officers and nearly 20 civilians charged in Project South face an array of allegations including bribery, drug trafficking and extortion. Investigators have alleged that members of organized-crime groups had been buying data and addresses from police officers, which were then used to co-ordinate targeted shootings and other crimes.
Three suspects were arrested outside the correctional officer’s house after midnight on June 20, 2025. While police charged a 28-year-old man and two youths with murder conspiracy, the question of who ordered the alleged hit still lingers.
Investigators suspected inmate with ties to Ryan Wedding used jail guard ex-girlfriend in murder plot, documents show
Recently unsealed court documents in the case reveal that police suspected that the attempted hit may have been ordered by a jailed accomplice of alleged cocaine kingpin Ryan Wedding – and also suspected help from that inmate’s former girlfriend, who was a guard at Toronto South Detention Centre.
While neither the inmate, Gurpreet Singh, nor the female correctional officer, Nishwant Dosanjh, were charged, both were central targets in the murder-conspiracy investigation, the documents say.
The documents contain unproven allegations that have not been tested in court. A lawyer for Mr. Singh has said he would not respond to allegations that had not resulted in a charge. Ms. Dosanjh’s lawyer has denied the allegations.