|
2005: Revelation
of $30M in claims paid out over last six years | New
head of Toronto police commission under seige | Paul
Gillespie: Porn-sniffing cop | Thomas
Kerr | Dee Brown
| > > > continuing
| Toronto police union
| Deputy chief takes cushy
job with Magna | Malicious
RCMP promoted to Inspector |
And Julian Fantino rides off into the
sunset . . .
SUMMARY
OF JULIAN FANTINO'S CAREER (or a very selective resumé)
Julian Fantino's
appointment as Commissioner of Emergency Management builds on
a distinguished policing career that spans four decades. Julian
Fantino brings to his appointment a wealth of experience in policing
and emergency management.
Background
- Police Service
1964 - 1991:
Joined the Metropolitan Toronto Police Force as an auxiliary police
officer. Appointed police constable of the Metropolitan Toronto
Police Force in 1969. Promoted through various ranks, leaving
the force as acting staff superintendent.
1991 - 1998: Chief of London Police Service
1998 - 2000: Chief of York Regional Police
Service
2000 - 2005: Chief of Toronto Police Service
A selection
of recent professional contributions
-
Directed the policing response for the Severe Acute Respiratory
Syndrome (SARS) outbreak
and the August 16 power blackout (both 2003) - Directed
the development and implementation of an upgraded emergency response
plan for the Toronto Police Service (since 2002)
- Responsible for security for the Papal
visit (July 2002)
- Speaker at the World Conference on
Disaster Management hosted by the Canadian Centre for Emergency
Preparedness, entitled "The Changing Face of Disaster
Management" (July 2002)
- Canadian police representative to
the conference "Law Enforcement in the Era of
Global Terror," Tel Aviv, Israel (January 2003)
- Group leader to the Federal Bureau
of Investigation Leadership in
Counter-Terrorism Program
- Edinburgh, Scotland (September - December 2004)
- Participant in the "Post September
11, 2001, Terrorist Attacks
Management Briefings,"
held by the Federal Bureau of Investigation and the
New York Police Department (2001/02)
- Developed an "Intelligence Officer
Exchange Program" with the New York City Police Department
(since 2002)
- Made submission to the Senate Standing
Committee on National Security and Defence on the threat of terrorism
(May 2002)
- National delegate to the International
Interpol Conference - Cancun,
Mexico (October 2004).
Selected
awards and recognitions
-
Appointed Commander of the Order of the Police Forces by the
Government of Canada (2003)
- Appointed a Member of the Order of
Ontario by the Government of
Ontario (2004)
- Awarded the Commander of the Order
of Merit to the Republic of Italy (2002)
- 30-Year Police Exemplary Service Medal
(1999)
- Order of St. John (2001)
- Recipient of the Queen's Golden Jubilee
Medal
- Recipient of the International Association
of Chiefs of Police (IACP)
Civil Rights Award in Law
Enforcement, Education/Prevention (2002).
Chief celebrates relationship-building
Black community meeting brings tenure full circle
Years have eased tensions
that once greeted Fantino
ISABEL TEOTONIO, STAFF REPORTER,
Feb. 26, 2005.
Five years ago Toronto police
Chief Julian Fantino picked the stage of the Jamaican Canadian
Association for his first community meeting; yesterday, in one
of his final acts as chief, he returned to the same stage for
a Black History Month event.
Back then, he faced a tough
crowd, many of whom opposed his appointment and questioned him
about accountability within the police force.
Yesterday, he again faced a
tough audience. But this time, it was a room filled with 500
teenagers, many of them bored-looking, from high schools in the
Jane-Finch area.
The years have eased many of
the tensions that greeted the chief in his early days. And if
anything, Fantino has become a bit more used to the fray.
Admitting relations between
police and the Jamaican-Canadian community have, at times, been
strained, Fantino yesterday insisted he always remained committed
to a vision of building a strong relationship with Toronto's
black community
"Treat everyone with dignity
and respect - I've made that my constant refrain, even when we
were in difficulty on relationship issues," he told reporters.
"From time to time there
are rocks in the roadway, no path is clear and no path is free
of the odd difficulty. But I'm very proud of the fact that whenever
these situations arise, people have worked the issues through."
While the relationship between
police and the black community has been rocky, association president
David Griffiths likened it to quarrels between siblings.
"You have your fights,
you have your quarrels, you hug and make up," said Griffiths,
pointing out that both groups have made concerted efforts in
making up.
"The chief has done an
excellent job in terms of continuing to put a strong focus on
building relationships," said Griffiths, who presented Fantino
with a plaque recognizing his contribution to the city.
"Relationship-building
is an ongoing process ... We've made a solid foundation and we
must continue to work and build on these relationships,"
said Griffiths.
Returning to address members
of the association in one of his final gestures as chief was
particularly symbolic, said Fantino, pointing out the circumstances
for his visit.
Along with representatives
of Horner Rialto Joint Venture, Fantino was there to present
the association with a sculpted bust, entitled Liberty, depicting
a black man breaking apart chains.
Workers at Horner Rialto, a
property development company, discovered it in one of their properties
about 15 years ago. Until now, it's been sitting in the company's
main office, but owners recently decided to donate the granite
bust, which was designed in 1972 by the late Louis Temporale.
Company officials called the
police service for thoughts on what organization to donate it
to and Fantino suggested the Jamaican Canadian Association because
of its extensive community work.
Fantino will reflect on his
career this evening at a tribute dinner to him that will include
the lieutenant governor, Cardinal Aloysius Ambrozic and Justice
John O'Driscoll of the Superior Court, who swore Fantino
in as chief.
Tickets for the $125 gala event
at the Fairmont Royal York hotel have been sold out for days.
Proceeds will go to Variety Village and the Breakfast Club.
A long
wait to fill Fantino's shoes
LINDA DIEBEL, Toronto Star,
STAFF REPORTER, Jan. 15, 2005
After the long-expected retirement
of Julian Fantino next month, it's going to take the Toronto
police board at least six weeks to come up with a new chief for
the largest police force in the country.
That's the good news.
Six weeks is the target laid
out in an interview this week by police board chair Pam McConnell.
Although that pushes the appointment to mid-April, McConnell
says the job won't be posted until completion of a thorough consultative
process to determine what kind of chief Torontonians want.
"This is community consultation,
and this is what I do best," said McConnell (Ward 28, Toronto
Centre-Rosedale). "If people aren't used to participatory
democracy (regarding) the police force, get used to it."
The bad news, according to
critics, is the timing of the delay.
It comes with three of the
four command positions open and an increasing exodus of some
of the best talent on the force, the so-called "high flyers"
who crack the big cases. Morale is reportedly low, and relations
are strained between headquarters and the civilian oversight
board.
"The top command is in
disarray, and that should be a concern. It certainly is a concern
to me," said Councillor Case Ootes (Ward 29, Toronto-Danforth),
a board member who opposes McConnell's timetable for choosing
a new chief.
"We can consult until
the cows come home, but let's not kid ourselves - there is some
urgency here. We desperately need a chief."
Meanwhile, without a posting
for the job, rumours are rife on the force that Staff Supt. Bill
Blair, considered a front-runner since a newspaper profile last
summer, already has the job. In fact, the latest twist suggests
that McConnell and Mayor David Miller already gave Blair a private
heads-up.
"Oh my goodness, I am
dumbfounded," responded McConnell, denying the rumour. "That
is so funny. It reads like a soap opera. Who's writing the scripts?
"Why would we go through
this long, consultative process, which is enormously hard, if
we already had somebody in the wings? That would suggest we are
out of our minds. Let me assure you, I haven't tapped anybody
on the shoulder and said, `Come right in and give us an interview.'"
Said Miller: "The rumours
are utterly false. In any high-profile appointment there will
always be rumours. But this is probably the most important policing
job in the country, certainly over the next while, and I'd be
very disappointed if there were not a thorough and proper search."
At first, Miller didn't want
to dignify rumours with a response. The problem is that, the
last time a chief was appointed in 1999, the rumours turned out
to be true. The Star pegged Fantino for the job in a front-page
story, even though he was not on the short list and hadn't even
applied for the job.
"There is going to
be a difference this time," Miller said. "The chief
will have to apply."
The mayor plans to take
a place on the board in the next scheduled shuffle, in June.
Ootes doesn't accept the
denials at face value, which underscores the sourness that continues
after a year of public bickering among members of the police
board. He lost a bid at the board last year to offer Fantino
an extension of his contract.
"It wouldn't surprise
me if Mayor Miller and McConnell have already made their decision,"
said Ootes, without offering any names. "Whether it is a
done deal, I just don't know."
As for the man at the centre
of the scuttlebutt, Blair makes no secret of his desire for the
job.
"I'm not going to be
coy about it," he said, at police headquarters on College
St. "I am interested in the job. But I respect the process
and we have a chief until Feb. 28."
Other potential candidates
have shied away from public commitment. Blair, however, says
he will definitely apply for the job he lost to Fantino in 1999.
He recognizes that being touted as the boy to watch could work
against him, adding: "It's not much fun being front-runner."
Board member John Filion
(Ward 23, Willowdale) thinks it's rich that members who last
year opposed measures to facilitate finding a new chief are now
critical of the delay. Ootes, for example, voted against choosing
a management consulting firm early to begin setting down the
hiring criteria.
"Some of us kept saying
there would be big problems come March, but our warnings were
ignored," he said. "Now, the public might look at all
this commotion and the changes at the top of the police organization
and say, `Oh my God, public safety is compromised.'
"But it may be a turbulent
time for the board and for the organization over the next couple
of months, but it is not anything that affects the safety of
the public."
Still, there's no denying
times are turbulent. Police staffing problems, including the
command, top a list of issues:
Fantino leaves Feb. 28 without
either a replacement or even a temporary fill-in, at least at
the moment. His retirement bash will be held at the Fairmont
Royal York on Feb. 26.
Consultant Paul Stanley,
hired by the board, is in the middle of the consultative process
to set hiring criteria. Next week, the board will announce the
final stage of that process, which includes four community meetings
- Feb. 9 in North York, Feb. 10 in Scarborough, Feb. 15 in Toronto
and Feb. 17 in Etobicoke - to get public input.
`Some of us kept saying
there would be big problems come March, but our warnings were
ignored'
John Filion, police board
member
"How much of this is just going through the motions?"
asks Ootes. He plans to challenge McConnell and her timetable
at the next board meeting on Jan. 24, although he believes the
numbers are against him in a vote.
Of McConnell, he says: "I
thought she had her criteria, given that she wanted to get rid
of Fantino."
Deputy Chief Steve Reesor took
everyone by surprise this week by announcing he is retiring from
the force, thereby removing himself as a potential interim chief.
His last day is March 18 and, sometime later this year, he will
move into an executive position with Magna International, the
auto parts giant founded by Frank Stronach.
Although nobody on the force
has been tagged to be interim chief, some board members thought
Reesor filled the bill, among them McConnell, who was stunned
when she heard the news.
"He would have been the
obvious person to take over for six weeks, " McConnell said.
"He may have even been someone who would have applied (for
the chief's position)."
Ootes agrees. Reesor as acting
chief would have been "the logical thing," he said,
adding that people are leaving because morale is bad. Without
naming Reesor, Ootes said he has had conversations with senior
officers whose morale is exceedingly low.
"There is a bad climate
between the board and senior command," Ootes said. "I
think that, on balance, the board is anti-police."
Reesor told the Star he
is leaving because he got a great opportunity. He added that
he was never approached about becoming interim chief. "Even
if things had been different with the board, it wouldn't have
made any difference," he said.
The force's other deputy chief,
Mike Boyd, left in late 2003 and a replacement still hasn't been
named. (Command positions include the chief and two deputy chiefs,
as well as the chief administrative officer, currently Frank
Chen.)
The board's rationale in waiting
to naming a new deputy chief in this case, according to McConnell,
was to appoint a new police chief and let the chief choose his
own deputy. Now the new chief has two top positions to fill.
Boyd's former position has
been a revolving door. First, it was filled by Staff Supt. Dave
Dicks, who retired. His party was Thursday night at a Don Mills
restaurant.
Then, Staff Supt. Emory Gilbert
took over, but he, too, is retiring, this time in April.
The force is losing some of
its top people, with years of experience in homicide and other
key departments. Among them is Det. Sgt. Mike Davis, who is leaving
in April to set up a private business with Det. Mark Mendelson.
Davis was dubbed Eliot Ness
last year when he took over the newly reconstructed 52 Division
plainclothes unit, set up to police the entertainment district.
The former plainclothes unit was dissolved after allegations
of corruption resulted in criminal and Police Services Act charges.
Davis and Mendelson are veterans
on the homicide squad, with some 200 murders investigated between
them.
"They are two of the finest
homicide detectives I have. They are both excellent people,"
Blair said. "We are sorry to lose them." However, he
insists that the ranks are deep and that there are many officers
waiting to take over.
"I don't think my reputation
has gone unnoticed," Davis said. "It's for personal
fulfillment. I've completed 32 years. It's time to move on and
make use of my experiences and contacts."
There's an added wrinkle in
the process of appointing an interim chief. Board member Filion,
among others, said it would be "awkward" for the board
to give the temporary post to someone who has applied for the
top spot.
But, according to the current
timetable, the board won't know who is applying for chief until
applications are accepted. And that won't come before the consultative
process finishes, after the third week of February. It looks
like the posting will go up only a few days before Fantino's
retirement party.
Ootes insists that, with the
clock ticking, it's time for the board to address the issue of
a temporary chief, and he plans to raise the issue at the private
part of the Jan. 24 meeting.
The swirl of politics surrounding
the police board is muddied even more by the province's delay
in naming a seventh member of the board.
Currently, the board is two
members short, but a sixth member, former journalist Hamlin Grange,
was appointed by the province last year, although he hasn't officially
taken up his position.
Premier Dalton McGuinty's government
has dragged its feet in naming the final member.
Sources told the Star the
province is looking for a woman.
In late November, University
of Toronto criminologist Mariana Velverde was interviewed by
provincial officials, but she hasn't heard anything.
"We are actively looking
for someone and working to fill the vacancy," a McGuinty
spokesperson told the Star last week.
"I hope they have a very
good reason for this delay," Filion said. "Otherwise,
the province is being really irresponsible."
However, McConnell said that
the board could appoint a new chief without the addition of a
seventh member of the board.
EDITORIAL: Fantino overreacts
to sex unit critics
Toronto Star, Jan. 12,
2005.
The Toronto Police Service
still has much to learn from Jane Doe, but you would not know
it judging from Chief Julian Fantino's crusty response to criticism
of how the police handle sexual-assault investigations.
In a recent report, city auditor-general
Jeffrey Griffiths faulted the police for shortcomings in the
way they deal with such cases, years after a court found in 1998
that the force had been "irresponsible and grossly negligent"
in handling the notorious "Jane Doe" case. A year later
the auditor made 57 recommendations to improve procedures.
But in a follow-up report last
week, Griffiths found many of the recommendations still have
not been implemented. That led city councillor Pam McConnell,
chair of the Toronto Police Services Board, to call Griffiths'
findings "damning" and "baffling."
Stung, Fantino agreed that
Griffiths' report was "fair, balanced and constructive."
But he also called his political critics "assassins."
For good measure, he added that "cheap sound bites and glib,
knee-jerk comments have no place in a constructive dialogue about
sexual assaults."
That sounded jarring, especially
given Fantino's no doubt correct observation that Toronto police
investigate sexual assaults with "dedication and professionalism."
The chief's retort came across as needlessly harsh, defensive,
even out of touch.
Jane Doe is the pseudonym for
a sexual-assault victim who in 1998 successfully sued Toronto
police for failing to warn residents of her downtown neighbourhood
about a serial rapist in the area.
The court finding that Toronto
police were negligent in her case resulted in the auditor-general
making scores of recommendations to improve procedures in these
cases.
Yet Griffiths' follow-up was
disquieting. He found that officers responding to sexual assaults
often inexplicably ignore the force's own policies, including
sensible and practical measures that can put victims at ease
and aid investigations.
Officers often conduct detailed
interviews with victims, contrary to directives to gather only
"basic information" at first. Victims often are not
given the option of being interviewed by a female officer, despite
a policy to offer that choice. And almost one-quarter of lead
investigators have not been trained to deal with sexual assaults.
Moreover, Griffiths found that
Toronto officers fail to report as many as 40 per cent of sexual
assaults to a violent crime database within the time period set
out by the force.
Griffiths also criticized police
for failing to implement a formal complaint process to report
inappropriate police conduct toward victims of sexual assault
and their case workers, and for failing to work with anti-violence
groups to implement changes.
In fairness, though, Griffiths
notes that police have made some headway in dealing with sexual
assaults. In particular, the force has restructured and broadened
the mandate of its sex-crimes unit, which now handles twice as
many sexual assault cases as in 1999 despite little increase
in resources. That's a credit to the staff. And officers now
work evenings, when most assaults occur.
However, the police have had
time to put all the proposals into practice. While the force
has come some way, it has no reason to be complacent. Certainly,
the public is not.
Fantino's hostility toward
criticism from people such as McConnell is perplexing, given
the public's legitimate interest in this issue, and the undeniable
progress that has been made. His reaction seems to reflect the
defensive, circle-the-wagons attitude that has marked his sometimes
controversial tenure as chief, prompting strained relations with
some members of the community.
That is troubling, given that
Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty is reported to be considering
Fantino for the position of commissioner of emergency management
when his contract with the police expires in March. That is a
crisis-management job that requires a cool, level head.
Fantino faces season of changing political
winds
LINDA DIEBEL, The Toronto
Star, Feb. 7, 2004
Chief Julian Fantino is a patient
man. On a recent blustery afternoon, he waits, ever serene, for
members of the Toronto Police Services Board to show up for their
scheduled 1:30 meeting at College St. headquarters.
They're late. They're still
hammering out their own positions in a room off the auditorium
before they can face the chief.
Fifteen minutes go by, half
an hour ... Isn't this rather rude?
But Fantino, ramrod straight
in his chair, appears not to notice. He stares at his briefing
papers, patting them into place. He's used to this. As he recently
observed, somewhat wearily, in a radio interview, police must
be ``patient'' with civilian overseers.
``We're there long-term,''
he told CBC Radio's Andy Barrie. ``We see governments come and
governments go. We see mayors come and mayors go. We see police
services boards come and police services boards go. But we just
maintain our focus (and) do the best we can with the politics
that prevail. People, be it the politicians or be it policy-makers
- we have to give them some time to get up to speed.''
"So we're basically very
charitable in that way.''
And so he waits, charitably.
2:15 p.m. The meeting begins.
Relations between Fantino and board members are polite, excruciatingly
so.
``I'd be very pleased to do
that for the board ... ''
``Most helpful, chief. ...
Thank you, chief. We're so grateful.''
Who would guess that below
the surface roil such treacherous waters?
Toronto's police chief, always
controversial, never shy, often embroiled in controversy, appears
embarked on the most dangerous period of his tenure. He's tangling
with the board - his employer - over his very future. He wants
a new contract, maybe he'll get one. He's done ``excellent work
in some areas,'' says Mayor David Miller.
Not a good sign.
These are messy politics. It
doesn't get much grittier than to see this kind of warfare, a
powerful, seasoned, big-city police chief versus politicians.
The outcome is uncertain. But reporters do not get leaks about
the police chief's contract, hiring at HQ or the inner workings
of last year's Fantino-friendlier board, without smelling trouble.
``There's no doubt he's feeling
under fire,'' says Councillor Gloria Lindsay Luby, a Fantino
fan and former acting board chair. ``He's used to swimming in
political waters but, he's going to have to swim pretty hard.''
How times change. Two quick
elections, provincial and municipal, and it's a different world.
Last year, Fantino was everybody's
favourite. He was a front-row guest at an auto-parts plant when
former Tory premier Ernie Eves delivered the ``Magna budget,''
with its million dollars for a Toronto police helicopter. Mel
Lastman, former mayor and police board member, personally urged
the board to renew his contract until 2007, two years past its
March, 2005 expiration, and he entered into quiet negotiations
to do just that.
Now, he faces a new Liberal
premier (whose government promptly cancelled the chopper), a
new mayor, rookie police board members and an actual job performance
review. Add to that, among other controversies, a formal complaint
to the board by the Law Union of Ontario about his alleged political
activities (not on behalf of any winners) and a push to open
up the police budget to meaningful public scrutiny.
Or, as one insider put it,
a move away from the tradition that ``the top cheese is the top
cheese, period.''
This top cheese is one of the
more fascinating characters in Toronto public life.
Perhaps it's an odd description
of a guy with a flat, nasal delivery and the exuberance of a
Buddha. But Fantino, 61 and chief since 2000, is a complex man,
tenacious, thin-skinned, loyal and shrewd, who melts for his
twin baby granddaughters and holds a grudge forever.
He's ``Julie'' to his pals;
the ``General'' over at HQ.
Above all, he is a man in love
with the police. Like a little boy. Friends say he's ``consumed''
by his job. At a town hall meeting this week, he talked about
14 Division, where he started out on the force, as ``the love
of my life.''
He says he's not a player.
``I have purposely stayed out of political commentary,'' Fantino
told CFRB last year, around the time he was calling for a federal
inquiry into the entire criminal justice system. ``Some of our
judges and policy-makers should get a reality check on life,''
he once told a provincial Tory convention..
He won the 2002 chief-executive-of-the-year
award from the nation's biggest PR association. ``What we saw
was a man who never, ever, shied away from communicating, even
when the times got really hard,'' said Gordon McIvor, from the
Canadian Public Relations Society, at the gala award dinner at
the Royal York.
Perhaps it takes a good communicator
to know when it's time to call in a real pro.
At today's police board meeting,
a short, graying man in a beautifully tailored blue suit buzzes
around Fantino. He's Mark Pugash, hired from the U.K. as director
of corporate communications for the Toronto Police Service. He
reports directly to the chief, in a post which, according to
Lindsay Luby, was created by Fantino some time ago and filled
last fall.
It's an interesting hire, quietly
raising hackles among cops. Here's this civilian hired at $115,000
to work for the chief when first-class constables slog it out
in the line of fire for $66,000. There's grumbling in the ranks
over a salary that could almost cover a couple of the new officers
Fantino wants to hire.
Councillor Olivia Chow, a former
board member, criticizes a police corporate communications budget
of $1.3 million in 2003. That's reasonable, isn't it?
``A million dollars!??''
She rolls her eyes.
``The mayor of Toronto has one (communications) staffer.''
``We don't have anybody
at the police services board,'' says board vice-chair Councillor
Pam McConnell. ``We put out a press release last week. I had
to write it out myself.''
Lindsay Luby defends hiring
Pugash. What about the police media relations officers, including
Sergeant Jim Muscat, already on staff?
``As nice a mouthpiece as he
is, Jim is a police officer,'' says the Etobicoke Centre councillor.
``I gather Mark, therefore, must be skilled in communications.
There's a difference. I think it is as important for (Fantino)
as it is for the City of Toronto. We need good corporate communications,
and we have that.''
Problem is, there was a bit
of stickiness back in England involving Fantino's new communicator.
A communications snafu.
In his last job as chief press
officer for the Kent constabulary, Pugash was named in a libel
suit by the BBC which ended in an out-of-court settlement in
October, 2002, reportedly $1.6 million in legal fees and damages
and an unreserved, public apology from the police.
BBC journalist Donal MacIntyre
sued Pugash and two officers over comments about a TV special
on conditions in a special-care home, including that the report
had been ``misleading.'' Kent police waded into the story when
they investigated the report's findings at the home for disabled
patients.
The suit was controversial
in the U.K. because it was believed to be the first time a libel
action against police had succeeded. Nicholas Armstrong, MacIntyre's
lawyer, wrote that it was critical because media organizations
had, for so long, found themselves ``on the receiving end of
energetic libel litigation by police officers.'' As well, he
said, people tend to believe what police representatives say
because ``they carry a badge of authority and weight.''
`Let's be absolutely clear.
This was a settlement,'' says Pugash. ``You're aware of the distinction
between a settlement and a court case?''
Yes, yes, quite right. ``But
you still had to apologize and damages had to be paid by the
police rather than the BBC.''
`He was very ambitious ...
extremely dedicated, tireless, tenacious, smart.'
Former chief William McCormack
Pugash, a lawyer, corrects
me: ``Damages were paid by the insurers .''
A Montreal-born Canadian, he
says he wanted to come back to Canada, noting that there was
``full disclosure'' with his prospective employer.
There's an elephant in the
room which, for this profile, must be acknowledged.
Fantino does not give interviews
to the Star.
``It wasn't something he wanted
to do,'' says Pugash, of my failed quest which began last October.
He has not done so since a
Star series in October, 2002, which, using arrest data, suggested
that blacks were treated differently than whites in certain circumstances.
``That's got to tell you something,''
says lawyer Susan Eng, former police board chair who fought her
own battles with then-chief William McCormack. ``How can any
police chief refuse to speak to the largest newspaper in the
country?''
She sees it as public accountability
issue.
``He is the chief of police.
He is not allowed to sulk.''
But there's another layer.
In February, 1989, Fantino,
then staff inspector at 31 Division in North York, released race-related
statistics for the Jane-Finch area at a public meeting. Those
statistics, sought for a ``comparative analysis'' by a race relations
committee, showed an ``inordinate number of serious crimes involve
black suspects.''
The issue exploded, leading
to the police board banning police from gathering racial data.
``I did what I did because
I was asked,'' Fantino told Toronto Life in 2000. He'd
run the request by his chief, Jack Marks. ``Up to the night before,
I checked and rechecked and, yes, it was exactly what they wanted,
and it was to be a private meeting in committee. I didn't know
the press would be there and, when it hit the fan, someone was
needed to walk the plank while others ran for the hills, and
shame on them!''
He felt betrayed, deeply wounded.
Friends say he believes it cost him the chief's job on his first
run in 1995. At the time, he was police chief in London, where
he served seven years, before becoming York Regional Police chief
in 1998.
``It was painfully apparently
to me, anyway, that he didn't have a ghost of a chance,'' says
McCormack. ``I felt very sorry. He shouldn't have given (the
statistics), but he meant well. It haunted him ...`'
In 2002, before the Star published
its series, reporters Michelle Shephard and Jennifer Quinn met
with Fantino. Shephard tried to bring up his experience in 1989.
``This is trash ... I'm just
disgusted. This is an ambush. Have a nice day, people ... So
what are you inferring, that I'm a racist?''
``Give yourselves a shake,
people. I tell you, it'll be a long time before you dignify my
office.''
Fantino often seems to have
a short fuse.
For a couple of hours one night
this week, he participates in a town hall meeting at Bishop Marrocco/Thomas
Merton Catholic Secondary School in the west end. People line
up for questions and reaction to the chief is mixed, with one
man commenting, ``You are the guy!''
Then, Kim Fry, a slim young
woman with dark hair, steps to the mike. She complains about
lack of public accountability for the police budget.
``HOLD IT, HOLD IT, HOLD IT,''
yells Fantino. ``You're way off base. WAY OFF BASE. You don't
know about the procedure. So you can't make those broad statements.
Make us look like we are a bunch of thieves here.''
``I'm, ah, not implying, uh,
uh ... `' stammers Fry.
``JUST HOLD ON, HOLD ON,''
barks the chief.
``Our budget is, in fact, examined
line-by-line by my boss, which happens to be the police services
board. And, by the way, it's their budget, I'm only the manager
... I'm not going to sit here and pretend that we are going to
take this kind of criticism.''
What Fry was trying to convey
- maybe awkwardly, but it was an intimidating scenario - was
that she, a local resident (and member of the Ontario Coalition
for Social Justice) feels the public has no input into police
budget priorities.
That's the view, too, of one
of those bosses of Fantino's.
Police board vice-chair McConnell
(Toronto Centre-Rosedale) is fighting for more public scrutiny
of police budget priorities. People want more foot patrols, better
community policing, she says.
``What's the point?'' Fantino
recently asked the board, about opening up the 2004 budget to
public review now. Last Nov. 13, the outgoing police services
board rubberstamped a $688 million budget, based on what McConnell
calls ``an eight-page, glossy handout.''
That budget is still embroiled
in negotiations at City Hall.
But McConnell has a bad taste
in her mouth.
``Don't you think it kind of
strange that we come in as councillors, who are going to have
to decide as members of the police services board, and we have
not been briefed on what's in our own budget?'' asks McConnell.
``That will change.''
Fantino inspires loyalty. Conservative
Sen. Consiglio DiNino says simply: ``If tomorrow I have to lean
on somebody to help me, he'd be one of the first I would call.''
``Julie was in the guard of
honour at my wife's funeral. Sheila died three years ago,'' he
says. ``He was wonderfully there for me, both he and his wife,
Liviana.''
They've been friends for more
than 25 years, meeting at volunteer events in Toronto's Italian
community. Fantino arrived here as a boy from Vendoglio, his
dad a labourer with no English. ``That's pretty brave stuff,
which is why I don't like whining,'' he once told Toronto
Life.
He went from a security job
at Miracle Mart to the auxiliary police and, finally, in 1968,
14 Division. ``He was very ambitious,'' says former chief McCormack.
As a young plainclothes officer, he was ``extremely dedicated,
tireless, tenacious, smart ... If I had a homicide in the division
and (Fantino and partner Michael Burke) were on, I knew I had
good help. They would turn over every rock.''
`This man's a cop. He hates
criminals, whether they wear a cop's uniform or a jacket of some
other kind.'
Sen. Consiglio DiNino
Fantino friend
Just look at how he spends
his holidays, New Year's Eve, for example.
After dinner at Fantino's Woodbridge
home, DiNino and Fantino tour the city, swinging by First Night
family celebrations at SkyDome. ``All the kids want his autograph.
He was a celebrity like I couldn't believe. ''
Then, until 2:30 in the morning,
they check out police R.I.D.E. (Reduce Impaired Driving Everywhere)
posts. At a checkpoint on Mt. Pleasant, DiNino recalls a young
couple.
`` `My God, is that the chief?'
the guy asks. `I gotta take a picture with the chief,' and the
cop tells him, `Get outta here!' But they make a U-turn and come
back, and the guy says, `I'm not leaving until we get a picture
with the chief.'`'
``You know,'' adds DiNino,
``this man's a cop. He hates criminals, whether they wear a cop's
uniform or a jacket of some other kind. That's what impresses
me most about him.''
``He never stops selling (for
the police). Sometimes I have to say, `Julie, just have a glass
of wine, and leave it alone.'`'
We're back where we came in,
at the board meeting at HQ. It chugs on for more than two hours.
The board itself is fractured
and wounded. There should be seven members; there are five, chair
Alan Heisey, a city appointee, Dr. Benson Lau, named by the province,
and three city councillors, McConnell, John Filion (Willowdale)
and Case Ootes (Toronto-Danforth).
The province is expected to
fill a provincial vacancy soon.
As well, a provincial slot
remains open for former chair Norm Gardner, sidelined pending
the ruling of an investigation into his acceptance of a .45-calibre
handgun from a private dealer, plus 5,700 rounds of ammunition
from police stores.
Maybe he'll be back, maybe
not.
Moreover, Heisey could be off
the board. He awaits the outcome of a review by retired Judge
Sydney Robins over allegations he made improper inquiries about
a child pornography case to a sex-crimes unit officer.
Stakes are high. Who sits on
the board in coming months determines Fantino's fate.
Stay tuned ...
There's another wrinkle to
contract machinations.
If the board doesn't extend
Fantino's contract, he'll have to step down as vice-president
of the International Association of Chiefs of Police. He was
elected to the position, which hinges on his chief's job, at
the organization's annual meeting in Philadelphia last year.
The conference kicked off on
Monday, Oct. 20. That day, horrible news broke in Toronto of
the abduction of 10-year-old Cecilia Zhang.
``I wish I was there,'' Fantino
said in that Tuesday's Globe and Mail, from Philadelphia, where
he was slated to run for the vice-president's position later
in the week.
It is a three-year post. Fantino
took it with little more than half that time left on his Toronto
contract. He didn't ask for board approval, according to former
member Councillor Frances Nunziata, who argues, ``It has nothing
to do with the board.''
Others disagree. Here's where
critics say Fantino is unclear on the concept of civilian authority
by his employer.
``It is putting the cart before
the horse,'' says lawyer Eng. ```You are entitled to hold that
position because you are chief. You don't get to be chief because
you hold that position.
``It represents very fundamentally
his view of civilian governance, even to the point of his own
job, never mind the police budget stuff I care about.''
Fantino won't comment, according
to Pugash.
The IACP post is ``an honour,
a privilege and an accomplishment,'' says Nunziata (York South-Weston).
``It's not the only reason he should remain as chief, but it's
an important reason in itself.''
Gardner, a Fantino friend,
says Fantino ``took on the obligation to the IACP,'' and it would
be ``much more helpful'' if the police board would co-operate.
``It's quite a distinction
for Toronto, `' says Gardner. ``He made quite an impression on
the American chiefs of police. They set up the position just
for him.''
Well, no, says IACP executive
director Dan Rosenblatt, from Falls Church, Va., headquarters,
near Washington, D.C. He says Fantino ran unopposed. The IACP
has close to 20,000 members - roughly 85 per cent American -
and a hefty legislative lobby on police issues on Capitol Hill.
``I'm one of his biggest fans,''
says Rosenblatt. ``He is a man of great principle, and an honourable
man who works very hard. Julian brings to the table an international
perspective on law enforcement issues.''
Fantino often comments on international
perceptions of Canada. ``South of the border, Canada is seen
as a sort of strainer, leaking from a thousand holes,'' he told
a Mike Harris Tory convention, two weeks before taking over as
chief.
``In more colloquial terms,
I call it Swiss cheese, a place where crime really does pay.''
He has described his country
as an ``object of international scorn and ridicule ... a laughingstock
among nations'' for not being tougher on organized crime and
child pornographers.
``I can tell you, with a lot
of shame, that even Third World countries are more civilized
and conscientious than Canada in protecting children.''
But now, with cold political
winds blowing, perhaps Fantino will abandon his fight for a new
contract. He's a proud man. Why take the risk he might not prevail?
``I think he'll still go for
it,'' says McCormack. ``I think he's crazy. The pressure is extremely
high, I know what it's like ... but he's determined.''
What else would he do?
``That's the question of the
century,'' says DiNino. ``Because I've posed that to him. There's
no damn way he can sit back and do nothing. He's got to be one
of the most active people I know, physically and mentally.
``I said during Christmas,
`So, okay, what's your next career?' He says, `Well, offer me
a job.' He was joking. Then, he says, `I don't know. We'll worry
about that when we get there.'
``You want my opinion, I certainly
think he'd make a great politician.''
|
Truth can never be
told so as to be understood, and not be believ'd. William Blake, The Proverbs of Hell
