Mike McCormack (police officer)

Last updated
Mike McCormack
Born
Scarborough, Ontario, Canada [1]
Occupation(s) police officer
TPA president - retired August 2020
Relatives William J. McCormack
William McCormack Jr.
Kathy McCormack
Jamie McCormack

Michael McCormack is a retired Toronto Police officer, son of a former Toronto Police Chief, and the president of the Toronto Police Association from 2009 to 2020. [1]

Contents

Personal life

McCormack is the son of former Toronto Police Chief William J. McCormack who headed the Metropolitan Toronto Police Service from 1989 to 1995. [2] He comes from a family of police officers; his paternal grandfather was a police officer in Ireland before being promoted Sergeant Major in charge of the Beau Bassin Police Station on the island of, what was then the British Colony of, Mauritius in the Indian Ocean off Madagascar; [3] his maternal grandfather was connected with the OPP; [4] and three of his four siblings have a connection to policing in Ontario. [1]

Police career

McCormack began his 23-year policing career working at 52 Division, in downtown Toronto's entertainment district, [4] where his older brother, William Jr., was assigned from 1996 until his suspension in April 2004, [1] when criminal charges for corruption were laid in relation to "shaking down club owners" in 52 Division [2] and William Jr. resigned in March 2009 although the criminal charges for soliciting and accepting bribes were stayed for excessive delay by Crown prosecutors and the lead police investigator. [1] [5] [6] Mike subsequently moved to 51 Division, policing Toronto's Regent Park district, which he "loved", later indicating "Regent Park was my niche". [4]

In 2002, 51 Division's McCormack, Detective Constable Jack Caccavale, and Detective Scott Matthews, of the Toronto Police Drug Squad, co-founded the annual "Fite Nite" event which McCormack co-emcees. [2] [7] [8] [9] The event was started to boost morale following the suspension of several 51 Division officers, including former TPA president Craig Bromell, for allegedly beating up homeless man Thomas Kerr. [9] [10] [11] The private charity event, which is attended by some 2,000 law enforcement personnel including police, corrections officers, and Crown attorneys, consists of both male and female members, from area police departments, paramedics, firefighters, and 911, engaging in boxing matches to determine who will win bragging rights for the following year. [8] [12] Proceeds of the annual event support Police Enabling Action for Community Education (THE P.E.A.C.E. FUND), chaired by Matthews and supervised by Dixon Hall, which uses the money to fund partial scholarships for local students to attend university. [7] [13] Officially, the event is condemned by TPS as its "boozy underpinnings and sexist overtones" do not fit with the image the service is trying to project. [2] [9] Several hours after the March 2009 Fite Nite event three officers allegedly ganged up on a 33 Division officer, who had been officer of the month from January of that year, beating him to the extent that he was hospitalized, suffering from serious head injuries and requiring a CT scan to check for possible brain injuries; despite an internal investigation, no criminal charges were laid and no disciplinary action was reported. [9] [12] [13]

In 2004, McCormack was charged with corruption and discreditable conduct under the Ontario Police Services Act for allegedly being involved with a reputed organized crime affiliated, drug-addicted, used-car salesman; however those charges were later dropped. [2] [14] Then in 2008 another discreditable conduct charge against McCormack was also dismissed, that charge stemming from McCormack having, for his own purposes, recorded Toronto Star reporter John Duncanson while he was being held in a cell after an arrest for public drunkenness. [15] It was not until September 2009, the same day that David Miller announced that he would not be running for a third term as Mayor of Toronto, that McCormack was convicted of insubordination under the police act for improperly, and for purposes not related to law enforcement, accessing Duncanson's records in the police database. [2] [15] Duncanson had previously penned numerous stories involving Toronto Police for the Star and was the award-winning investigative reporter who, in 2005, uncovered illicit activities by six members of 51 Division's drug squad. [16] The fine for McCormack's insubordination conviction was 40 hours pay; however, since McCormack had already been elected to the Toronto Police Association, the pseudo-union for Toronto Police officers and civilian employees, by the time he was sentenced, he cannot be compelled to pay the fine because, although he's technically still a Toronto Police officer, he's currently on secondment to the TPA and is paid by them; so the TPS is unable to deduct the fine from his wages and, except through payroll deductions, has no legal power to compel payment; but the money would eventually be collected if McCormack ever returned to active duty with the Service. [17] [18] [19]

McCormack retired on August 1 2020, and shortly after purchased an oceanfront home in Florida and took a position as chief risk officer at ECN Capital. [20]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Julian Fantino</span> Canadian politician

Julian Fantino,, is a Canadian retired police official and former politician. He was the Conservative Party of Canada Member of the Parliament of Canada for the riding of Vaughan following a November 29, 2010 by-election, until his defeat in 2015. On January 4, 2011, Fantino was named Minister of State for Seniors; on May 18, 2011, he became Associate Minister of National Defence; on July 4, 2012, he was named Minister for International Cooperation. Fantino served as the Minister of Veterans Affairs from 2013 until 2015, when he was demoted to his earlier post of Associate Minister of National Defence following sustained criticism of his performance at Veterans Affairs. He was defeated by Liberal candidate Francesco Sorbara in the 2015 election.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">South African Police Service</span> National police force of South Africa

The South African Police Service (SAPS) is the national police force of the Republic of South Africa. Its 1,154 police stations in South Africa are divided according to the provincial borders, and a Provincial Commissioner is appointed in each province. The nine Provincial Commissioners report directly to the National Commissioner. The head office is in the Wachthuis Building in Pretoria.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bill Blair (politician)</span> Canadian politician (born 1954)

William Sterling Blair is a Canadian politician and former police officer who has served as the minister of National Defence since 2023. A member of the Liberal Party, Blair represents Scarborough Southwest in the House of Commons. Blair previously held the portfolios of Minister of Border Security and Organized Crime Reduction and minister of Public Safety and Emergency Preparedness. Before entering politics, Blair worked for three decades with the Toronto Police Service (TPS), serving as the chief of police from 2005 until retiring in 2015.

William Joseph McCormack was Chief of Police of the Metro Toronto Police from 1989 to 1995. He succeeded Jack Marks. Earlier in his life McCormack was a marine radio operator and British colonial police officer before coming to Canada in the late 1950s.

The 2006 Ontario terrorism case is the plotting of a series of attacks against targets in Southern Ontario, Canada, and the June 2, 2006 counter-terrorism raids in and around the Greater Toronto Area that resulted in the arrest of 14 adults and 4 youths . These individuals have been characterized as having been inspired by al-Qaeda.

Susan Eng, LL.B. is a Toronto lawyer and former chair of the Metro Toronto Police Services Board from 1991 to 1995. She is also an activist in the Chinese community in Toronto.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Edward Sapiano</span>

Edward Sapiano was a Canadian defence lawyer, based in Toronto, Ontario, notable for his role in many high-profile criminal cases. He initiated Canada's largest criminal investigation of police, resulting in the arrest and prosecution of several Toronto police officers and was also involved in the so-called Toronto 18 terrorism trial. Edward Sapiano is also noted for demanding immediate DNA testing of his client shortly following the 1996 arrest of the suspected "North York serial rapist", leading to his client Jeremy Foster's full vindication, despite a false confession to the crime. In his quest to get illegal guns off the street, Sapiano also created the only lawyer-operated gun amnesty program available in North America, Piece Options. He is also known for starting a database of rulings and judgements to track alleged misconduct among Toronto-area officers which was then retrievable for cross-examinations in other cases by other lawyers. Edward Sapiano, after putting his practice on hold for two and a half years due to kidney failure, returned to court in 2017 for the Andrea White murder trial. Edward died on March 21, 2020, from complications of kidney disease and was cited to be the first lawyer in Canada to practise while undergoing 10 hours of daily dialysis. He was regularly featured by media outlets, including The Globe and Mail, CBC, and the New York Times commenting on criminal law issues.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Robert Dziekański</span> Polish man killed by police at Vancouver Airport

On October 14, 2007, Robert Dziekański, a 40-year old Polish immigrant to Canada, was killed during an arrest at the Vancouver International Airport in Richmond, British Columbia (BC).

The Toronto Police Association (TPA), founded in 1944, is a labour organization representing the approximately 5,500 uniformed and 2,500 civilian members of the Toronto Police Service in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. While police officers in Ontario are prohibited by law from forming a union or striking, the TPA fulfills most of the functions of a public-sector union, including collective bargaining contract negotiations with its membership's employer, the Toronto Police Service.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Corruption in Canada</span> Institutional corruption in the country of Canada

Corruption is an increasing issue across Canada. On Transparency International's 2022 Corruption Perceptions Index, Canada scored 74 on a scale from 0 to 100. When ranked by score, Canada ranked 14th among the 180 countries in the Index, where the country ranked first is perceived to have the most honest public sector. For comparison with worldwide scores, the best score was 90, the average score was 43, and the worst score was 12. For comparison with regional scores, Canada's and Uruguay's score of 74 was the highest score among the countries of the Americas. Regionally, the average score was 43 and the lowest score was 14.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2010 G20 Toronto summit protests</span>

Public protesting and demonstrations began one week ahead of the 2010 G20 Toronto summit, which took place in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on 26−27 June. The protests were for various causes, including poverty and anti-capitalism.

The Musitano crime family is a 'Ndrangheta organized crime family based in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada, as well as Platì in Southern Italy and Buccinasco and Bareggio in Northern Italy. Founded by Angelo Musitano in Canada in the 1940s, the family was one of three centralized Mafia organizations in Hamilton, with the other two being the Luppino crime family and the Papalia crime family. Unlike the other two Hamilton families, the Musitanos did not form a strong alliance with the Buffalo crime family, staying closer to their 'Ndrangheta cell.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Killing of Sammy Yatim</span> Police shooting

The death of Sammy Yatim occurred early in the morning of July 27, 2013, in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Yatim, an 18-year-old Toronto male armed with a switchblade knife, was shot at nine times, and was hit by eight of the shots fired by 30-year-old Toronto Police Service (TPS) officer James Forcillo. After being shot, while lying on the floor of the streetcar he was tasered. He later died from the injuries. The incident occurred after Yatim, brandishing a 12 cm (4.7 in) switchblade knife in a Toronto streetcar, advanced on a passenger, threatened other passengers, and exposed himself. The confrontation between Yatim and the police was recorded and footage of it was released publicly, prompting strong reactions across Canada.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mark Saunders (police officer)</span> Canadian police chief (born 1962)

Mark Saunders is a Canadian politician and retired police officer who served as chief of police with the Toronto Police Service (TPS) from 2015 to 2020.

The Danzig Street shooting, or Danzig shooting, was a gang-related shooting that occurred on the evening of 16 July 2012 at a block party on Danzig Street in the West Hill neighbourhood of Toronto, Canada. Rival gang members Folorunso Owusu, 17, and Nahom Tsegazab, 19, along with an unidentified third gunman, opened fire in a crowd of two hundred people. This resulted in the deaths of Joshua Yasay and Shyanne Charles, and the injury of twenty-four others, making it the worst mass shooting in Toronto.

Between 2010 and 2017, a total of eight men disappeared from the neighbourhood of Church and Wellesley, the LGBTQ village of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The investigation into the disappearances, taken up by two successive police task forces, eventually led to Bruce McArthur, a 66-year-old self-employed Toronto landscaper, whom they then arrested on January 18, 2018. On January 29, 2019, McArthur pleaded guilty to eight counts of first-degree murder in Ontario Superior Court and was subsequently sentenced to life imprisonment with no eligibility for parole for twenty-five years. He is the most prolific known serial killer to have been active in Toronto, and the oldest known serial killer in Canada.

Tess Richey was a Canadian woman who was killed after a Friday night out with a friend in the Church and Wellesley neighbourhood of Toronto. Four days after she had disappeared, her body was discovered by her mother at the bottom of an outdoor stairwell two houses from where she was last seen. A homicide investigation led to the arrest of Kalen Schlatter, who has been convicted of first-degree murder.

The Pussy Palace Raid occurred on September 14, 2000, when Toronto police raided a lesbian bathhouse known as the "Pussy Palace" during the "2000 Pussies" event. Two undercover female police officers attended and investigated the event prior to the raid. Five plainclothes male police officers then entered and searched the club, including private rooms. There were around 350 women in attendance at the time, many of whom were nude or semi-clad.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 "Corruption probe: The cops". Toronto Star. 2009-12-08. Archived from the original on 2013-07-21. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 Brendan Kennedy (2009-10-07). "'Big Mike' McCormack takes over as police union chief". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2013-10-11. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  3. ↑ "William J. "Bill" McCormack". Bermuda Ex Police Association. Archived from the original on 13 November 2015.
  4. 1 2 3 Jon Sufrin (2014-12-12). "Q&A: Mike McCormack, Toronto cops' biggest defender". Toronto Life. Archived from the original on 2015-09-29. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  5. ↑ "Charges against police officers stayed". Toronto Star. 7 December 2009. Archived from the original on 13 May 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  6. ↑ "Wiretaps in Toronto police corruption case released". CBC News. 8 December 2009. Archived from the original on 13 November 2015. Retrieved 13 November 2015.
  7. 1 2 Rob Lamberti (2009-03-05). "Cops to do battle ... in the ring". Toronto Sun . Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  8. 1 2 Nick Pron (2004-01-24). "Officers duke it out ... all for a good cause". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2015-11-14. Retrieved 2015-11-13– via Bullshido.
  9. 1 2 3 4 Michele Henry (2009-03-08). "Police fundraiser ends in punch-up". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2015-11-14. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  10. ↑ "Investigator testifies in police beating case". CBC News. 2002-11-28. Archived from the original on 2015-11-13. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  11. ↑ "Homeless man claims victory in suit against Toronto police officers". CBC News. 2003-01-24. Archived from the original on 2014-05-04. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  12. 1 2 "Toronto cop beaten up by other officers at charity event". CP24. 2008-03-08. Archived from the original on 2015-11-14. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  13. 1 2 Dale Anne Freed; Michele Henry (2009-03-10). "Police FiteNite organizers defend event". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2015-11-14. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  14. ↑ "Mike McCormack to head Toronto police union". CBC News. 2009-10-07. Archived from the original on 2014-01-27. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  15. 1 2 Christie Blatchford (2009-09-26). "Take a good look at constable who wants to head police association". The Globe and Mail. Archived from the original on 2015-11-14. Retrieved 2015-11-14.
  16. ↑ Isabel Teotonio (2009-01-28). "John Duncanson, 43: Gritty Star reporter shone on police beat". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2015-11-14. Retrieved 2015-11-14.
  17. ↑ Rosie DiManno (2010-04-28). "Police union president fined five days' pay". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2015-11-14. Retrieved 2015-11-14.
  18. ↑ Joe Warmington (2014-12-08). "McCormack won't back down on Mukherjee". Toronto Sun . Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  19. ↑ Wendy Gillis (2014-12-22). "Toronto police union president calls for end to 'anti-police rhetoric'". Toronto Star. Archived from the original on 2015-04-23. Retrieved 2015-11-13.
  20. ↑ Donovan, Kevin (2021-03-08). "Whatever happened to 'Big' Mike McCormack, former head of Toronto police union? He's on an oceanfront property in Florida, working for Bay Street". thestar.com. Retrieved 2023-05-06.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.