Wendy Gillis
TorontoStar
Canada
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Past articles by Wendy:
Can women fix police? Why more North American police departments are trying to end the boys’ club
Led by a Black woman chief, Waco, Texas, is among a growing number of North American departments who’ve pledged to hire dramatically more female cops, in part to reduce the use of force. Will it work? → Read More
Ontario terror suspect railed against ‘far-left,’ cited ‘grooming’ conspiracies immediately after killing Muslim family
“Straight down the rabbit hole I went,” Nathaniel Veltman said, describing how he came to violence in a statement to police citing a series of white-nationalist ideas and conspiracy theories. → Read More
Toronto cop guilty of misconduct for pointing gun at Black teens in ‘Neptune Four’ carding case
A Toronto police tribunal previously cleared Const. Adam Lourenco of wrongdoing for pointing his gun at the unarmed “Neptune Four” teens in November 2011. That ruling was overturned in an appeal decision released this week. → Read More
‘Things have got to change, for the better’: Pride parade revellers share their thoughts and hopes
From first-timers to veterans of the annual parade, participants and marchers turn out to show their support — and be supported → Read More
Enormous crowd celebrates Toronto’s Pride parade against backdrop of rising LGBTQ attacks
Annual downtown parade draws thousands of cheering rainbow-clad revellers and marchers, including candidates for mayor in Monday’s byelection → Read More
Key steps to secure Toronto police drug evidence against officer thefts ‘effectively unimplemented’: Judge
In September 2020, now-former cop Lorenzino Censoni entered his station’s drug storage locker, tore into two evidence bags and ingested what he thought was cocaine — nearly dying of a fentanyl overdose just meters from the station. → Read More
A city ‘synonymous with violence’ turned it around. Can Toronto learn from the Glasgow model?
Glasgow was once the “murder capital of Europe.” Today, its public health approach to crime has produced a sharp drop in homicides and is being adopted across the United Kingdom. Could it work here? → Read More
LCBO anti-theft device allegedly tracked stolen whisky to veteran Toronto cop’s home
Consts. Brian James and Thomas Victor are facing professional standards charges for allegedly stealing two bottles of Johnnie Walker Black Label whisky that they’d seized during an arrest. → Read More
Man acquitted after Toronto cops mute body cameras during arrest
The act, which one officer testified he thought was “standard practice,” amounted to “deliberate suppression of evidence,” the judge found. → Read More
Suspended Toronto cop charged with breaking his bail conditions
Veteran officer Const. Const. Boris Borissov is facing charges for allegedly stealing a luxury watch from a dead man’s home and a credit card off a deceased woman. → Read More
‘I was going to shoot him in the head’: Toronto cop admits to threatening fellow officer
Const. Kehui Li admitted to telling his partner “I was so mad that I was going to shoot him in the head,” following a verbal dispute with a colleague. → Read More
Mayoral candidates’ photos with uniformed Toronto cops slammed as ‘improper’
“Posing for a picture with a candidate is political code for showing your support,” said Toronto lawyer Jack Gemmell. → Read More
An ex-police chief for mayor? The questions behind Mark Saunders’ unusual campaign
Mark Saunders would be a new kind of mayor in a city long helmed by lawyers and businessmen, but the former chief’s campaign raises new questions — and old baggage. → Read More
Toronto cop appeals dismissal over tweets about workplace sexual harassment, racism
Const. Firouzeh Zarabi-Majd views herself as an “advocate and a whistleblower,” her lawyer has said. → Read More
Before Toronto murders, serial killer Bruce McArthur was labelled ‘very low risk,’ unsealed probation documents reveal
The Ministry of the Solicitor General initially denied the Star’s freedom-of-information request to access to the files, citing, in part, the serial killer’s privacy rights. → Read More
Toronto officer charged with sexual assault, breach of trust, says SIU
The 14-year veteran with Toronto police’s 41 division has been suspended with pay. → Read More
‘Scattered on the floor’: Toronto police’s ‘dated’ drug lockers opened door to officer theft, confidential report says
A never-before-seen OPP report — 90 per cent redacted — is offering new insights into the fallout from a series of officer thefts that continue to affect Toronto drug prosecutions. → Read More
Nearly 200 women and girls killed: Femicides hit new highs in Canada in 2022, report finds
Among them: 23-year-old Daniella Mallia, who called Toronto police just three days before she was allegedly murdered by her ex-boyfriend. → Read More
Coroner rejects Toronto cop’s 11th-hour theory Sammy Yatim died in ‘suicide by cop’
“There is no direct evidence that suggests that Mr. Yatim wished to end his life by way of a confrontation with police,” the coroner wrote. → Read More
Canadian police used deadly force at record rates in 2022, new research finds
Sixty-nine people were killed by police in Canada last year, a record that continues a sharply rising trend in recent years, according to new research by the Tracking Injustice project. → Read More