Results tagged “torontopolice”

Yesterday, the Toronto Police arrested one Aretha Wilson under a U.S. extradition warrant for the charge of Assault with a Deadly Weapon [PDF]. What makes this particularly notable is that the person she assaulted was actor Leonardo DiCaprio, allegedly slashing his ear and neck with a beer bottle at a Los Angeles party four years ago, for which DiCaprio reportedly received seventeen stitches. While Wilson was on the lam in Toronto, she was also the subject of a country-wide warrant following a 2006 Super Bowl party, where police allege she slashed a man with a beer glass—and the man would die moments later in a fall from his eighth floor balcony, either by accident or by his own hand. Drama! To any Hollywood studios looking for their next television franchise, may we suggest Fugitive Squad: Toronto Unit?

Alleged sleazeball Igor Kenk's long-awaited bike theft bust by Toronto police in July captured the attention of media locally and beyond. With legal proceedings underway, a recorded 573 cyclists were reunited with their beloved bikes at public viewings over the summer. But according to police spokesperson Constable Wendy Drummond, 2,292 of the 2,865 seized bikes remain unclaimed and currently sit in an undisclosed location collecting dust.

     

After a six-month pilot project by Toronto Police Services, the closed circuit television cameras placed at Queen Street West and Bathurst were removed yesterday morning. The intersection was chosen due to a higher-than-average violent crime rate, though some local residents at a January public forum felt the cameras would shift illegal activities to neighbouring streets. The CCTV tests around the city have also raised privacy issues and sparked debate about their crime-fighting effectiveness.

Over in the U.K., closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras are a ubiquitous sight: the country—led by London—has more of the tiny public surveillance cameras than any other country in Europe. They're now a part of pop culture and are referenced in songs, used as album artwork, and in the case of one intrepid band, used to make a music video.

In the fall of 1997, the Metro Toronto Zoo had something of a clearance sale, divesting itself of merchandise branded "Metro Toronto Zoo." On January 1st, the Megacity would be coming, the Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto would be no more, and the Zoo—to be renamed simply the "Toronto Zoo"—would be prepared for the change.

The above video—not safe for work unless you're using headphones—was shot by the late Peter Walker and is a clip from Min Sook Lee's documentary Hogtown: The Politics of Policing (winner of the best Canadian feature prize at Hot Docs 2005). Uploaded to YouTube fewer than three weeks ago, it's been passed around online over the last few days, since being linked to by Toronto Life's Philip Preville in a Friday blog post.

With parking at a premium this holiday season, shopping malls see an increase in lazy, self-important jackasses who park in Accessible Parking spaces and abuse legitimate disability permits. The mind boggles at the selfish sense of entitlement this takes, and the Toronto Police Service won't care that you "just had to return a video." The Parking Enforcement Disabled Liason Unit have just entered a month-long enforcement blitz, focusing on those who park illegally in...

Poor OCAP. They can't even complain about the police watching them without the police watching them. At noon on Wednesday, the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty held a press conference (not a rally or an action or a march but a press conference) at the northeast corner of Dundas and Sherbourne, and there was about one police officer for each person in attendance (around twenty). As eight or so cops casually observed the conference from across the street, Beric German of the Toronto Disaster Relief Committee speculated on how much each one was being paid: "About fifty dollars an hour?"

They're in cabs, ATMs, and the Entertainment District, and they're about to be in all TTC vehicles. By next June, every one of the TTC's 1.5 million daily riders will be photographed multiple times over their journey.

When the Information and Privacy Commissioner for Ontario published its guidelines for the use of video surveillance cameras in public places back in October 2001 [.PDF], it summarized that institutions considering their use "must balance the benefits of video surveillance to the public against an individual’s right to be free of unwarranted intrusion into his or her life. Pervasive, routine and random surveillance of ordinary, lawful public activities interferes with an individual’s privacy."

Sam Sniderman (aka. The Record Man) wants the Sam's building to be sold to Ryerson University. Unfortunately, this does not comply with the conspiracy to turn every store on Yonge Street into a discount shoe outlet or nail salon. Sorry.

Every weekday, we pick an image from the Torontoist Flickr Pool and feature it here on the site. It's our way to give the many excellent photographers in our pool the attention they deserve!

There are things that go on in this city at night that are far weirder than the leather-clad teenagers on Queen West. Did you know that vampires stalk High Park? Or that Toronto Police Services crossed into another dimension to investigate a suspicious death? No? Then you should check out Karen Bennett’s Fantastic Toronto project.

Meteorologists predict that this summer will be a scorcher, with temperatures in the 30-degree range for most of August. Don't worry, it won't be as hot as the summer of 2005. And sadly, it won't be as groovy as the summer of 1967.

Each week, Torontoist chooses the most interesting cases from the Toronto Police Service crime blotter. All charges are alleged until proven under law.

Each week, Torontoist chooses the most interesting cases from the Toronto Police Service crime blotter. All charges are alleged until proven under law.

Each week, Torontoist chooses the most interesting cases from the Toronto Police Service crime blotter. All charges are alleged until proven under law.

Each week, Torontoist chooses the most interesting cases from the Toronto Police Service crime blotter. All charges are alleged until proven under law.

Former Alliance president Robert Lantos and former president of CBS/Tri-Star Pictures/Sony Pictures Jeff Sagansky have invested millions in TV production company Blueprint Entertainment in order to create better Canadian television. Lantos explains, "The strategy is simple: to design TV shows that from the ground floor are genuinely Canadian...[and] whose first sale is to a network in the U.S. In the States, they perceive these shows as being domestic, so they are able to be sold for a much higher price than any imported programming.” It's like what they did with Due South, so how can it be bad?

If were anywhere near Jarvis and Dundas today, you were probably wondering if you've ever smelled anything so horrible, but one thing was certain: it was the smell of death.

Each week, Torontoist chooses the most interesting cases from the Toronto Police Service crime blotter. All charges are alleged until proven under law.

Each week, Torontoist chooses the most interesting cases from the Toronto Police Service crime blotter. All charges are alleged until proven under law.

In the first five minutes: the reunited Police gave a lacklustre performance; Jaime Foxx's attempts to warm the crowd with stale racial jokes flopped; the first award went to a duet by Tony Bennett and Stevie Wonder. Click. Broadcasting The Princess Bride twice during the lengthy award show was the smartest thing YTV has ever done.

Each week, Torontoist chooses the most interesting cases from the Toronto Police Service crime blotter. All charges are alleged until proven under law.

Each week, Torontoist chooses the most interesting cases from the Toronto Police Service crime blotter. All charges are alleged until proven under law.

Whether public surveillance cams make you feel all safe n’ cosy, or whether you find them an egregious infringement on your right to litter, tag, and engage in other anti-social behaviour, the Toronto Police Services Board wants to talk to you about it.