Mark Saunders makes history as Toronto police chief

Saunders, Toronto’s first black police chief, has been at helm of Toronto Police Service since former chief Bill Blair stepped down last month

Toronto police Chief Mark Saunders has officially taken over as the city’s top cop at a swearing-in ceremony at the force’s College St. headquarters Wednesday.

Saunders, who has served with the force for more than three decades, has been at the helm of the Toronto Police Service as acting police chief since former chief Bill Blair vacated the chair late last month. He was chosen as Blair’s successor following an intensive, international candidate search by the Toronto Police Services Board, the seven-member civilian board that includes Toronto Mayor John Tory.

Saunders makes history as the city’s first black police, and becomes one of the few black chiefs in Canada. Devon Clunis, who heads the Winnipeg Police Service, became the first black police chief in the country when he was named chief in 2012.

In the weeks since taking over from Blair, Saunders has drawn ardent criticism for announcing he will not put an end to a controversial police tactic known as ‘carding,’ when police stop, question and document someone not suspected of a crime. A series of Star investigations has shown that tactic disproportionately affects young black and brown men, prompting carding critics to call the practice racial profiling by another name.

Following brief remarks at the African Canadian Summit in April, Saunders told reporters he was not open to ending the practice because if he did, community safety could be compromised by a rise in crime.

“Abolishing it is not the way in which we are going to say ‘everything is going to be better,’” Saunders said. “If we remove the ability of our officers to engage with the community, all I can tell you is that will put us in a situation where there will be an increase of crime.”

Born in England in 1962 to Jamaican parents, Saunders was a young boy when his family moved to Canada. He completed school and signed on to become a police officer in the early 1980s.

Since joining the force, he has worked as a homicide detective, was the head of the homicide unit, and served with the Urban Street Gang Unit, the Intelligence Division, Drug Squad and Emergency Task Force, among other units.

–thestar.com