Julian Fantino

Julian Fantino, C.O.M., O.Ont, (born 1942 in Vendoglio, Italy) is the Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police. [cite news | first =
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archivedate = - Article on reaction to Fantino's appointment] He was previously Toronto's Chief of Police from 2000 to 2005, and Ontario's Commissioner of Emergency Management from 2005 until 2006. He was previously chief of police of London, Ontario from 1991 to 1998, and of York Region from 1998 until 2000. Previous to his London appointment, he had been a Toronto police officer since 1969.

Fantino was born in Italy and emigrated to Canada with his family when he was 11 years old. Prior to policing, Fantino worked as a security guard at Yorkdale Shopping Centre in Toronto. In 2003, he was awarded the Order of Ontario. On April 14, 2005 he was presented the Key to the City of Toronto by Mayor David Miller.

Fantino's two year term as Commissioner of the OPP began October 30, 2006 replacing the departed Gwen M. Boniface.

Early career

* Auxiliary Police Officer - Metro Toronto Police 1964-1969
* Police Constable
* Member of the Drug Squad - Metro Toronto Police
* Detective Constable
* Member of Criminal Intelligence - Metro Toronto Police
* Homicide Squad - Metro Toronto Police
* Divisional Commander and Acting Staff Superintendent- Metro Toronto Police

York Regional Police chief (1998-2000)

Fantino return to the Greater Toronto Area as Chief of York Regional Police in 1998. His tenure was brief and he returned to the Toronto force two years later. He was succeeded as chief by Armand P. La Barge.

Toronto Police Service chief (2000-2005)

Policing controversies

An incident in September 2000 involving five male police officers entering a women's bath house sparked public outrage and drew attention to TPS's poor standing in the queer community. [ [http://www.lgbtout.com/Documents/bathhouse.shtml LGBTOUT Events & Info ] ] In 2004, Fantino made an attempt to repair relations, primarily by appearing on the cover of "fab" in a photo which featured him posing in his police uniform with five other models dressed as the Village People standing behind him. [http://www.fabmagazine.com/issuecovers/full/252.jpg]

Fantino appeared to have little patience for protesters: he wanted them to ask police for permission before holding demonstrations. In one report, he commented "a problem is now arising where portions of the public believe that Dundas Square is a public space." [ [http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2004-07-22/news_story4.php NOW: Chief's chilling legacy, Jul 22 - 28, 2004 ] ] In his new position with the OPP, Fantino took an aggressive posture with a native protest blocking a major highway: he stated he "would not/could not tolerate the 401 being closed all day." However the commander on site decided against a raid as " [he was] not about to put people at risk for a piece of pavement." [ [http://www.cbc.ca/canada/story/2008/03/25/native-protest.html Police were poised to crack down on native protest, documents show ] ]

Corruption scandals

Fantino came under increasing scrutiny due to three corruption scandals which broke out during his tenure and his handling of those incidents. Fantino was accused of having tried to deal with these cases out of public view and attempting to shield them from investigation by outside police forces.

In one case, drug squad officers are alleged to have beaten and robbed suspected drug dealers. In another, plainclothes officers were charged with accepting bribes to help bars dodge liquor inspections. In the third, a group of officers who advocated on behalf of a drug-addicted car thief faced internal charges.

Two of these cases involve the sons of former police chief William McCormack, and came to light not as a result of investigations by Toronto police, but due to an RCMP investigation into gangster activity which inadvertently uncovered evidence of wrongdoing by Toronto police officers. Mike McCormack was later cleared of all wrongdoing due to a lack of evidence [http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1141339814357&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154&t=TS_Home] .

In March 2005, the CBC announced that they had obtained documents via the Access to Information Act showing that between 1998 and 2005 Toronto had spent $30,633,303.63 settling lawsuits against police. Norm Gardner said the settlement costs, which amount to about $5-million a year over six years, were expected, given the number of confrontations police face, suggesting that "people think they are going to get paid off."

Contract expiry

Fantino's contract as police chief expired on February 28, 2005. On June 24, 2004, the police services board announced that it would not be reappointing Fantino due to a 2-2 tie. This was controversial since chair Norm Gardner had been suspended from the five-man board due to a conflict of interest ruling, but as he refused to vacate his seat the three required votes for renewal were far more difficult to obtain. Conservative politicians on Toronto City Council responded with a "Save Fantino" campaign, and the board was deadlocked on the issue of beginning the search for Fantino's replacement.

Many Fantino supporters claimed that Miller was openly hostile to Fantino. Miller had ignored calls to pressure the police board after it voted against Fantino's renewal, yet Miller subsequently contacted the board looking for a role in hiring the next police chief, although the latter request was not granted.

On February 8, 2005, Fantino was appointed Ontario's commissioner of emergency management by Ontario premier Dalton McGuinty. This move was criticized by the opposition parties in the Legislative Assembly of Ontario, both for the lack of transparency in the hiring process and for the perception that the appointment was primarily motivated by the desire to avoid having Fantino run as a Progressive Conservative candidate in the 2007 provincial election against Finance Minister Greg Sorbara. However, Sorbara had also blamed Miller for failing to renew Fantino's contract, so this appointment could have also been seen as the Ontario Liberals' show of support for Fantino.

Former deputy police chief Mike Boyd took over as interim chief of police on March 1, 2005. On April 6, another former deputy chief, Bill Blair, was named Fantino's permanent successor.

Commissioner of Emergency Management (2005-2006)

Ontario Provincial Police commissioner (2006 on)

Fantino was appointed Commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police on October 12, 2006 by the provincial Liberal government. The position of Commissioner is equivalent to that of Chief of Police in other police forces. His appointment was criticized by native groups.

Fantino has criticized the effectiveness of the Canadian gun registry. [ [http://www.gunowners.org/op0507.htm Garry Breitkreuz] ]

Awards

* 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).
* Top Choice Award™ for Leadership (2005), voted by Italian-Canadians in Toronto, Ontario

References

2005 Recipient of the Top Merit Award by Top Choice Awards www.TopChoiceAwards.com

External links

* [http://www.nowtoronto.com/issues/2004-07-22/news_story4.php Chief's Chilling Legacy] , critical view from "NOW Magazine"
* [http://www.keepthechief.ca Keep the Chief] petition
* [http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/03/14/toronto-police050314.html?ref=rss News article about Police lawsuit spending]
* [http://www.ccep.ca/ccep_fant.html Commissioner of Emergency Management - Julian Fantino]
* [http://www.premier.gov.on.ca/news/Product.asp?ProductID=196 Premier of Ontario - Backgrounders - Julian Fantino]