Bill Blair

William Sterling (Bill) Blair is the current police chief of Toronto, Ontario. He was appointed on April 6, 2005, and assumed his duties on April 26. He took over from interim chief Mike Boyd (who had served for just over a month following the end of Julian Fantino's contract.) Chief of Police in United States usage is the title typically given to the head of a police department. ... Motto: Diversity Our Strength Map of Ontario Counties, Toronto being red Area: 641 sq. ... April 6 is the 96th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (97th in leap years). ... 2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar and is the current year. ... April 26 is the 116th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (117th in leap years). ... Mike Boyd is a Canadian police officer, who was sworn in as Torontos interim chief of police on March 1, 2005. ... Julian Fantino O.Ont. ...

Blair joined the police force in 1974 as a constable in Regent Park. He progressed quickly to drug enforcement, including work as an undercover officer. Later, he held administrative posts in the force, including in community policing, in corporate communications and as interim deputy chief. 1974 is a common year starting on Tuesday (click on link for calendar). ... This article is about Regent Park in Toronto. ...

Blair studied at the University of Toronto, obtaining his degree in criminology in 1981, and at the FBI Academy in 1990. More recently he received a certificate in police leadership from the Rotman School of Business. Founded in 1827, the University of Toronto (U of T), in Toronto, Ontario, is the largest university in Canada and one of the most important scholarly publishers in North America. ... Criminology is a sub-field of sociology dealing with matters related to crime and criminal behavior. ... 1981 is a common year starting on Thursday of the Gregorian calendar. ... The FBI Academy is located in Quantico, Virginia. ... 1990 is a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

In 1995, Blair volunteered to head the force's 51 Division following a wildcat strike of police officers brought on by a number of allegations of police misconduct, including the death of a homeless man under police custody, allegations of assault by another homeless man, and a racial profiling incident in which two officers in the division, in what they described as a "high-risk takedown", ordered two black men at gunpoint to get out of their car on Dundas St. E. (The men, one of whom was a reporter for Citytv, were forced to the ground and handcuffed. They were not charged, and later released.) 1995 was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... Strike action (or simply strike) describes collective action undertaken by groups of workers in the form of a refusal to perform work. ... Racial profiling is the use of race as one consideration in suspect profiling or other law enforcement practices. ... Dundas Street showing the Dundas Street streetcar, with Art Gallery of Ontario (AGO) in background. ... Citytv is a system of two English language television stations in Canada, CITY in Toronto and CKVU in Vancouver. ...

In August of that year, an altercation with Regent Park residents (within Blair's division) resulted in eight injured officers and three arrests. Nearly 50 cruisers and 100 officers were on scene. Residents alleged that bystanders, including children, were attacked with pepper spray. In response, Blair championed the community policing model. Note: as an adjective (stressed on the second syllable instead of the first), august means honorable. ... This article is about Regent Park in Toronto. ... Pepper spray is a non-lethal chemical agent which is used in riot control, crowd control and personal self-defense, including defence against dogs. ... Community policing is a political philosophy in which the police and police department are seen as members of the community, with police officers being part of where they live and work. ...

Blair is widely seen as more open to community dialogue than Fantino. On June 26, 2005, Blair became the first chief of police in Toronto's history to march in the city's Gay Pride parade. This was considered an important symbolic gesture to Toronto's LGBT community, where Fantino had been particularly controversial. The 2005 festivities also marked the 25th anniversary of Pride Week, which evolved out of the community's opposition to police conduct in the 1981 Toronto bathhouse raids. June 26 is the 177th day of the year (178th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 188 days remaining. ... Gay Pride Week or Pride Week is an event held in Toronto, Ontario during the last week of June each year. ... LGBT (or GLBT) is an acronym used as a collective term to refer to Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender people. ... On February 5, 1981, police in Toronto, Ontario, Canada simultaneously raided four gay bathhouses. ...