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Windsor Police Service | |
---|---|
Abbreviation | WPS |
Motto | Honour in Service |
Agency overview | |
Formed | July 1, 1867 [1] |
Preceding agency | |
Annual budget | $84 million [3] |
Jurisdictional structure | |
Operations jurisdiction | Canada |
Population | 217,195 [3] |
Legal jurisdiction | As per operations jurisdiction |
General nature | |
Operational structure | |
Overseen by | Windsor Police Services Board |
Headquarters | 150 Goyeau Street Windsor, Ontario N9A 6V2 |
Sworn members | 473 |
Unsworn members | 154 |
Elected officer responsible | |
Agency executive |
|
Website | |
Official website |
The Windsor Police Service is the municipal law enforcement agency in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It succeeded the Royal Canadian Rifle Regiment.
Since 2019, the Windsor Police Service has also provided contract policing services for the nearby Town of Amherstburg. [4] In 2021, it submitted a proposal to provide policing services for the Municipality of Leamington. [5] The municipality rejected the proposal and continues to be served by the Ontario Provincial Police. [6]
The current chief of police is Jason Bellaire, who previously served as a deputy chief and acting chief before being appointed to the role in November 2022. [7]
Windsor Police Services is among police forces with the highest number of human rights complaints in Ontario. [8] Specifically, they have been the subject of the highest number of formal complaints regarding sexual misconduct and reprisal. They have also been the subject of high-profile cases of assault against civilians. In 2020, amidst rising demands for police abolition across North America, a campaign was launched to defund the Windsor Police Services. [9]
The Windsor Police Service headquarters is located at 150 Goyeau Street in downtown Windsor. The building incorporates an Ontario Court of Justice courthouse. [10]
In addition, the service maintains secondary sites:
The police service employs 473 sworn members and 153 civilian members. The organization is divided into two areas: Operations and Operational Support. [11]
The Windsor Police Emergency 911 Centre handles all incoming 911 calls in the City of Windsor. It dispatches police officers, while calls for fire and EMS are routed to their respective agencies. The Emergency 911 Centre co-operates with the Canadian Coast Guard, Canada Border Services Agency and U.S. Customs and Border Protection. [12]
The Windsor Police Pipe Band was founded in 1967. The band performs at a variety of community events, including parades, police memorial services and funerals. Two groups also compete under the Windsor Police's name in grade 3 and 5. [13]
The following is a list of Windsor's police chiefs:
In April 2010, Windsor Detective David van Buskirk assaulted Dr. Tyceer Abouhassan, an endocrinologist, in an unprovoked attack in a parking lot on McDougall St. outside Dr. Abouhassan's workplace. Dr. Abouhassan was left with a concussion, broken nose, bruised ribs, and a detached retina, requiring emergency surgery. Van Buskirk initially filed a police report stating that Dr. Abouhassan had attacked him, and police filed charges against Abouhassan for assaulting a peace officer. Those charges were dismissed by the court later that year. [14] In 2012, a video was uncovered which showed the assault on film. Van Buskirk then retracted his earlier statements and plead guilty to assault. [15]
As the case developed, Windsor Star reported several previous cases of police brutality perpetrated by Van Buskirk and other officers named in the case. Between 1993 and 1994, there were at least four cases of Van Buskirk assaulting civilians and then charging them with obstruction or assault. In the first case, in 1993, Van Buskirk and another officer apprehended a man sleeping in his car and beat him severely. In the second, in 1994, Van Buskirk, working as a breathalyzer technician, roughhandled a man who alleged wrongful arrest, dislocating his shoulder. In both cases Buskirk's charges were thrown out of court. Both victims filed lawsuits against Van Buskirk and both suits were settled out of court. [16]
In the third instance, a Michigan man named Gregory Eugene Jackson also sued Van Buskirk, claiming that he and a group of Windsor police officers including Kent McMillan, also named in the Abouhassan case, had assaulted him when he was in Windsor. He suffered a gash to the forehead which required medical staples. He was charged with obstructing a police officer, but the Crown withdrew the charge. Jackson sued the police and settled out of court.
In the fourth instance, in 1994, Van Buskirk was accused, along with other officers, of beating three handcuffed men while taunting them with racial slurs. Two victims were charged with obstructing police, but were acquitted. One sued, but dropped his case for unknown reasons. Windsor police said Van Buskirk would be criminally charged with assault for the incident, but the case was never disclosed and the Police subsequently refused to comment when questioned by journalists. [16]
In 1998 Van Buskirk plead guilty to discreditable conduct and neglect of duty, for accompanying two topless Michigan women into a hotel room with a fellow officer, and telling headquarters they were on call for the ensuing five hours. He was docked 60 hours pay.
Abouhassan's lawyer expressed disbelief that Van Buskirk would not receive a suspension for any of the above incidents. [16]
Investigators also revealed other officers involved in the Abouhassan case had track records of assault and misconduct. Staff Sgt. Al Pizzicaroli, who worked with the police department's professional standards branch responsible for investigating the case, had previously in 1991 been witnessed assaulting a man with other officers. When citizens intervened in the assault, they too were assaulted, and the police made charges against them. The Court acquitted the accused and criticized the officers for misconduct. An internal investigation cleared the officers.
Inspector Randy Gould, named as a criminal investigator in the Abouhassan case, was found by an appeal court in 2002 to have beaten a confession out of a man convicted of manslaughter, in the presence of another officer.
Staff Sgt. Paul Bridgemann and Detective Pat Keane were alleged to have approached Dr. Abouhassan's lawyer about dropping the case, attempting to strike a deal in which charges against Dr. Abouhassan would be dropped if the Dr. dropped his charges.
Bridgemann had also been previously demoted in 1992 for discharging his firearm out a car window on the E.C. Row Expressway after becoming intoxicated in public with other officers.
Sgt. Mike LaPorte, a former Police Union executive, was the officer who filed the assault charges against Dr. Abouhassan in 2010. At the time he had retired and was therefore not subject to Police Act charges. LaPorte had his own track record of misconduct, previously engaging in a hit and run in 1993, hitting two parked cars after leaving a bar run by the Police Union. [16]
In the midst of the lawsuit launched by Dr. Abouhassan against the police, then-chief Gary Smith announced an early retirement, to be replaced by Al Frederick. [17] Van Buskirk was ultimately sentenced to 5 months in jail after pleading guilty to assault causing bodily harm. [18]
In 2017, a court decision revealed that the Windsor Police Service had lost twenty-five thousand dollars worth of cocaine from their evidence vault in 2013. Chief Al Frederick claimed to have alerted the Police Services Board to the missing drugs in 2013, although board members told CBC News they could not recall being informed. Frederick claimed that the drugs were likely accidentally incinerated, rather than stolen. [19]
In March 2018, two unnamed Windsor Police officers shot and killed 33 year-old Matthew Mahoney, a man experiencing mental health crisis and wielding a knife in a McDonalds. Mahoney was shot a total of seven times. In 2019 the Special Investigations Unit cleared the officers of any wrongdoing.
Mahoney's brother said he was diagnosed with schizophrenia and other health issues, and often "called the police to ask for help but had trouble expressing himself." They called for a coroner's inquest, claiming the SIU report was insufficient. [20] [21]
In 2019, it was reported that a domestic disturbance 911 hang-up call was made from Windsor Police Chief Al Frederick's Windsor home. It was reported that Frederick and his wife Simone were the only people normally living in the home.
CBC investigators raised questions about transparency and how the police handled the situation. Mayor Drew Dilkens dismissed concerns and claimed the call was "not of a criminal nature". [22]
The family of a 27-year-old Windsor man issued a complaint that officers used excessive force when arresting him in May 2019. The man claimed he was assaulted both during his arrest and after being detained in a police vehicle. Footage showed the man in a transport vehicle swallowing blood and in severe pain and discomfort. The SIU cleared officers of any wrongdoing, claiming that while the man was struck to the body and head, that officers used necessary force to detain him. Police claimed they believed the man was armed, although it was later revealed he was not. [23]
A memorial scholarship named John Atkinson Scholarship Award for Police Foundations is yearly given by St. Clair College for students who aspire to become police officers. The scholarship was named for PC John Atkinson, who was shot and murdered on duty in 2005.
The Peel Regional Police (PRP) provides policing services for Peel Region in Ontario, Canada. It is the second largest municipal police service in Ontario after the Toronto Police Service and third largest municipal force in Canada behind those of Toronto and Montreal, with 2,200 uniformed members and close to 875 support staff.
The Territorial Support Group (TSG) is a Met Operations unit of London's Metropolitan Police Service (MPS) which specialises in public order policing, amongst other specialist areas. In 2012 it consisted of 793 officers and 29 support staff. The TSG is a uniformed unit of the MPS that replaced the similarly constituted Special Patrol Group in 1987. TSG units patrol the streets of London in marked police vans or "carriers"; using the call sign prefix "Uniform". Generally each carrier has an advanced (police) driver, seven constables, and a sergeant. Territorial Support Groups often comprise three carriers, twenty one constables, and three sergeants reporting to an Inspector. They separately patrol designated areas experiencing serious levels of gang violence or disorder. When deployed, it is by the MPS Information Room. Due to the public order nature of their role, numerous carriers will often be assigned. TSG officers can be identified as TSG from the distinctive "U" in their shoulder numbers. Some TSG officers are also plainclothes officers, carrying a taser and handcuffs.
The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal is the municipal police agency for the city of Montreal, Quebec, Canada, and the neighbouring communities in the urban agglomeration of Montreal. With over 4,500 officers and more than 1,300 civilian staff, it is the second-largest municipal police agency in Canada after the Toronto Police Service.
The Barrie Police Service (BPS) is the police service of the city of Barrie, Ontario, Canada. It is made up of 218 police personnel and 94 civilians that serve a population of 135,711, as of 2011, in an area covering 100.71 km2 (38.88 sq mi).
The Niagara Regional Police Service (NRPS) is a regional police service maintained by the Regional Municipality of Niagara in the Canadian province of Ontario. As of 2021, the force employed 774 sworn police officers and 326 non-sworn support staff members.
The Special Investigations Unit is the civilian police oversight agency of the province of Ontario, Canada. The SIU is responsible for investigating circumstances involving police that have resulted in a death or serious injury, or if a firearm was discharged at a person. The unit also investigates allegations of sexual assault. The unit's goal is to ensure that criminal law is applied appropriately to police conduct, as determined through independent investigations, increasing public confidence in the police services.
Police misconduct is inappropriate conduct and illegal actions taken by police officers in connection with their official duties. Types of misconduct include among others: sexual offences, coerced false confession, intimidation, false arrest, false imprisonment, falsification of evidence, spoliation of evidence, police perjury, witness tampering, police brutality, police corruption, racial profiling, unwarranted surveillance, unwarranted searches, and unwarranted seizure of property.
The Columbus Division of Police (CPD) is the primary law enforcement agency for the city of Columbus, Ohio, in the United States. It is the largest police department in Ohio, and among the twenty-five largest in the United States. It is composed of twenty precincts and numerous other investigative and support units. Chief Elaine Bryant assumed leadership of the Division in 2021. Special units of the Columbus Division of Police include a Helicopter Unit, Canine Unit, Mounted Unit, Community Response Teams, Marine Park Unit, and Special Weapons and Tactics Team (SWAT).
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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.
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The death of Regis Korchinski-Paquet, a 29-year-old Indigenous-Ukrainian-Black Canadian woman, occurred in Toronto, Ontario, Canada on May 27, 2020. Responding to multiple 911 calls from Korchinski-Paquet, her mother, and her brother, for a domestic disturbance involving punches, thrown bottles, and knives, police attended her apartment. Subsequent to the arrival of police, Korchinski-Paquet fell to the ground 24 storeys below, and died at the scene. Her family accused the Toronto Police Service of having played a role in her death, which led to a Special Investigations Unit (SIU) investigation. The SIU announced in late August 2020 it had cleared all police officers of wrongdoing and found no evidence of police involvement in her death.
Dafonte Miller is a 19 year old man who was assaulted on December 28, 2016 in Whitby, Ontario, Canada, a city located approximately 20 km (12 mi) from Toronto, by Michael Theriault, an off-duty constable of the Toronto Police Service. Michael's brother Christian was also present. Miller is black; the Theriaults are white. On June 26, 2020, Michael Theriault was convicted of assault in connection with the incident. On November 5, 2020, Theriault was sentenced to nine months in prison with 12 months probation following, along with a five-year weapons prohibition. The case received significant media attention in Canada.
Dany Fortin is a retired Canadian Armed Forces officer who held the rank of major general in the Canadian Army. He has served in commanding roles in the War in Afghanistan and the ISIL insurgency in Iraq, and commanded the 1st Canadian Division Headquarters. He served as the Public Health Agency of Canada's (PHAC) vice president of logistics and operations from November 27, 2020 to May 14, 2021, leading the federal government's COVID-19 vaccine rollout, but was removed from that role after the Canadian Forces National Investigation Service initiated an investigation into him following an allegation of sexual assault between January 1 and April 30, 1988 while he was a student at Royal Military College Saint-Jean. The investigation resulted in a charge in August 2021 of one count of sexual assault. A judge in a Gatineau, Québec court acquitted Fortin on December 5, 2022. Fortin released from the military in July 2023, after 38 years of service.
Trevor John Cadieu is a retired senior Canadian military officer. He reached the rank of lieutenant general and was slated to become army commander, but released from the military following allegations of sexual misconduct almost 30 years before, and after months of delay in court proceedings. Cadieu maintained the allegations were false but needed to be investigated thoroughly to expose the truth. In 2022, he travelled to Ukraine to join the fight against the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. In October 2023, the charges were stayed by an Ontario judge, ruling that unreasonable delays by military police to disclose information to Cadieu and another accused party led to unreasonable delay in the trial, denying justice to the accused, the complainant, their families and the public as a whole.