Windsor Police Service

The Windsor Police Service is the police service in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. It succeeded the Royal Canadian Rifle Regiment.

Windsor Police Service
AbbreviationWPS
MottoHonour in Service
Agency overview
FormedJuly 1, 1867[1]
Preceding agency
Annual budget$84 million[3]
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionWindsor, Ontario, Canada
Population217,195[4]
Legal jurisdictionWindsor, Ontario, Canada
General nature
Operational structure
Overviewed byWindsor Police Services Board
Headquarters150 Goyeau Street
Windsor, Ontario, Canada
N9A 6J5
Sworn members473
Unsworn members154
Elected officer responsible
Agency executive
  • Pamela Mizuno, Chief of Police
Website
http://www.police.windsor.on.ca

The current chief of police is Pamela Mizuno, appointed October 4, 2019.[5] Chief Mizuno was appointed acting chief in June 2019 following the retirement of Chief Al Frederick. Mizuno became the permanent chief a few months later.

Windsor Police Services is among police forces with the highest number of human rights complaints in Ontario. Specifically, they have been the subject of the highest number of formal complaints regarding sexual misconduct and reprisal.[6] 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.[7]

Organization

The Windsor Police Service headquarters is located at 150 Goyeau Street in downtown Windsor. The building incorporates an Ontario Court of Justice courthouse.[8]

In addition, the service maintains secondary sites:

  • Major FA Tilston Armoury & Police Training Centre, 4007 Sandwich St. (shared with the Department of National Defence)
  • Sandwich Community Services, 3312 Sandwich St.
  • Collision Reporting Centre, 2696 Jefferson Blvd.

The police service employs 473 sworn members and 153 civilian members. The organization is divided into two areas: Operations and Operational Support.[9]

Operations

Emergency 911 Centre

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 cooperates with the Canadian Coast Guard, Canada Border Services Agency, and U.S. Customs and Border Protection.[10]

Investigations
  • General Investigations
  • Major Crime
  • Special Victims

Investigative Support
  • Investigative Analysis
  • Drugs & Gun Enforcement
  • Intelligence
  • Property & Evidence Retention

Patrol and Patrol Response
  • Downtown directed patrol
  • Crisis Outreach and Support Team (COAST)

Patrol Support
  • Court Operations
  • Emergency Services Unit
  • Explosive Disposal Unit
  • Marine Unit
  • Police Dog Unit
  • Traffic Branch
  • Collision Reporting Centre

Operational Support
  • Information Services
  • Planning & Physical Services
  • Professional Advancement
  • Professional Standards Branch
  • Quality Assurance and Audits
  • Technology Services

Windsor Police Pipe Band

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. 2 groups also compete under the Windsor Police's name in grade 3 and 5. Membership is opened to any individual. [11]

Police chiefs

List of police chiefs:

  • Samuel Port 1867
  • Gary Smith
  • Edwin V. McNeill
  • Claude Renaud
  • Hughes
  • Dennis Mahoney
  • Duncan MacNab 1935
  • William Bains
  • J.P. Smith 1935
  • Carl Farrow 1951-1953
  • Daniel Thompson 1920
  • Elias Wills
  • Gordon Preston 1968-1974
  • John Williamson 1974-1980
  • Jack Shuttleworth 1980-1983
  • John Hughes 1983-1988
  • Jim Adkin 1988-1994
  • John Kousik 1994-1999
  • Glenn Stannard 1999-2008
  • Gary Smith 2008-2012
  • Al Frederick 2012-2019
  • Pamela Mizuno 2019-Present

Controversies

Domestic Disturbance Call to Chief Frederick’s House

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 are 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”.[12]

David Van Buskirk and the Assault of Dr. Abouhassan

In 2012, a video of Windsor Detective David Van Buskirk surfaced, showing the detective severely beating Dr. Tyceer Abouhassan, an endocrinologist, in April 2010. After the video surfaced, Buskirk retracted his earlier police report that the doctor had attacked him, and pleaded guilty to assault.[13] Dr. Abouhassan was left with a concussion, broken nose, bruised ribs, and a detached retina, requiring emergency surgery.

As the case developed, Windsor Star reported several previous cases of police brutality perpetrated by Van Buskirk and other officers named in the case. In two separate cases in 1993 and 1994, Van Buskirk assaulted Windsor residents and then charged them with assaulting a police officer. In both cases Buskirk’s charges were thrown out of court. Both victims filed lawsuits against Van Buskirk and settled out of court.[14]

Shortly after, 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 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.[14]

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 previous incidents before the beating of Dr. Abouhassan.[14]

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 Police Union executive, also named in the Dr. Abouhassan case, engaged in a hit and run in 1993, hitting two parked cars after leaving a bar run by the Police Union. LaPorte filed charges against Dr. Abouhassan in 2010. At the time he had retired and was not subject to Police Act charges.[14]

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.[15]

Van Buskirk was sentenced to 5 months in jail after pleading guilty to assault causing bodily harm.[16]

Shooting of Matthew Mahoney

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 MacDonalds. Mahoney was shot a total of seven times. In 2019 the Special Investigations Unit cleared the officers of any wrongdoing.[17][18]

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.[19][20]

May 2019 Incident

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.[21]

Other Assault Charges

In June 2020, former Windsor Police officer Matt Stock was charged with sexual assault for an incident that occurred in 2016, while he was an officer. The former constable had worked with the Windsor Police Service from 1987 to 2017.[22]

In May 2020, Constable Dejan Djurovic was charged with assault and forcible confinement.[23]

In April 2020, Sgt. James Lucier, a sergeant with 32 years experience, was charged with assault causing bodily harm.[24]

Scholarship

A memorial scholarship named Harry Fairley Scholarship Award for Police Foundations is yearly given by St. Clair College for students who aspire to become police officers. The said memorial scholarship was named after Harry Fairley—a well-known Windsor Police Service officer who died in 2012.[25][26]

References
  1. http://www.police.windsor.on.ca/History/historical%20booklet%20final%20draft.pdf
  2. http://www.archeion.ca/windsor-police-services-board-and-windsor-police-services-fonds;rad
  3. https://windsorpolice.ca/about/publications/Documents/Annual%20Report%202018.pdf
  4. https://windsorpolice.ca/about/publications/Documents/Annual%20Report%202018.pdf
  5. "'I'm humbled and I'm honoured': Pam Mizuno named Windsor police chief". CBC News. October 4, 2019. Retrieved July 14, 2020.
  6. "Windsor police among forces with highest number of human rights complaints in Ontario - CBC Windsor".
  7. "Calls to defund Windsor police surface amidst anti-Black racism protests - CBC Windsor".
  8. "Our Facilities". windsorpolice.ca. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
  9. "What We Do". windsorpolice.ca. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
  10. "Home". windsorpolice.ca. Retrieved 2020-07-14.
  11. "Windsor Police Pipe Band". www.windsorpolicepipeband.com. Retrieved 2020-08-11.
  12. "Domestic 911 call to Windsor police chief's house raises questions - CBC Windsor".
  13. "Windsor police beating caught on tape - CBC Windsor".
  14. "Six Windsor police officers involved in beating lawsuit have tainted records - Windsor Star" (PDF).
  15. "Windsor police chief retires amid controversy - CBC Windsor".
  16. "Detective who beat blind doctor gets 5 months jail".
  17. "Man dies after being shot during confrontation with Windsor police - Windsor Star".
  18. "Windsor police cleared of wrongdoing in shooting death of man - Windsor Star".
  19. "SIU clears Windsor police in fatal shooting, family wants coroner's inquest - CTV Windsor".
  20. "BROTHER OF MAN SHOT DEAD BY POLICE SPEAKS OUT - AM800".
  21. "SIU clears Windsor police officers following an arrest made last year - CBC Windsor".
  22. "Former Windsor police officer charged with sexual assault - CBC News".
  23. "Off-duty Windsor police officer faces assault, forcible confinement charges - CBC News".
  24. "Windsor police officer charged with assault - CBC Windsor".
  25. "Hundreds of Students Receive $300K Worth of Scholarships and Bursaries". St. Clair College. February 25, 2016. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
  26. Hilderbrand, Dick (November 30, 2014). "Grant Fairley" (PDF). Windsor Life Magazine. 21 (8): 73. Retrieved June 17, 2019.
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