Mark Saunders (police officer)
Mark Saunders (born 1962) is a Canadian police officer who served as chief of police with the Toronto Police Service (TPS) from April 26, 2015 to July 31, 2020. Early life and education. Saunders was born in England to Jamaican parents. His family moved from England to Quebec in 1967, and in 1969, they settled in Milton, Ontario. He was student council president while attending Milton District High School, and also attended W. I. Dick Middle School, J.M. Denyes School, and Martin Street Middle School. He earned an honours bachelor of applied science in justice studies  from the University of Guelph-Humber. Toronto Police Service. Saunders began his policing career after graduating from high school. Before being appointed chief in 2015, he held the position of deputy chief in charge of specialized operations command. He has had assignments with professional standards, urban street gang unit, intelligence division, drug squad, community safety command, and emergency task force, and served as the unit commander of the homicide squad. Chief of police. Saunders was selected by the Toronto Police Services Board on April 17, 2015, to succeed Bill Blair as the chief of police. Saunders is the first Black  Canadian to lead the Toronto police and the second Black Canadian to lead a police force in Canada (having been preceded by Devon Clunis of the Winnipeg Police Service in 2012). In August 2019, the Toronto Police Services Board extended Saunders' five year contract by one year, until April 2021. However, on June 8, 2020, Saunders announced his retirement effective July 31, 2020 Toronto van attack. The Toronto van attack was a vehicle-ramming attack that occurred on April 23, 2018, when a rented van was driven along Yonge Street through the North York City Centre business district in Toronto , Ontario. The driver targeted pedestrians, killing 10 and injuring 16, some critically. The incident is the deadliest vehicle-ramming attack in Canadian history. Danforth shooting. The 2018 Toronto shooting, known locally as the Danforth shooting, was a mass shooting that occurred on Danforth Avenue in the Greektown neighbourhood of Toronto, Ontario, on the night of July 22 which killed two people and wounded thirteen. The shooter committed suicide after a shootout with TPS officers. 2010–2017 Toronto serial homicides. Between 2010 and 2017, a series of men disappeared in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. In the early part of the decade, Toronto police  had created Project Houston, a divisional task force which linked the disappearance of three men of South Asian or Middle Eastern origin to Church and Wellesley, Toronto's gay village. The investigation was unable to determine if the disappearances were related or if a crime had been committed. In mid-2017, amid public speculation of a serial killer in Church and Wellesley, evidence was gained from another missing-persons investigation which led TPS to create a second divisional task force, Project Prism. In January 2018, Project Prism investigators obtained evidence connecting two disappearances to Bruce McArthur, a 66-year-old self -employed landscaper, whom they arrested on January 18, 2018. Resignation. Saunders announced his resignation on June 8, 2020, after serving 37 years with TPS. July 31, 2020 was his final day as chief – 8 months prior to the expiry of Saunders' contract. Saunders said he made the decision to leave sooner in order to "put family first". Post-policing career. In December 2020, Saunders joined the COVID-19 vaccine task-force for Ontario during the COVID-19 pandemic in Ontario. He was named the province's special advisor for the Ontario Place redevelopment project. Saunders is planning to contest the 2022 Ontario  general election as the Progressive Conservative candidate for the riding of Don Valley West, held by former premier Kathleen Wynne since 2003, who is not seeking re-election. Personal life. Saunders has four children with his wife Stacey; they live in Etobicoke. In October 2017, Saunders had a kidney transplant surgery with his wife as the donor. Saunders was born with only one kidney and underwent nightly kidney dialysis at home for 15 months prior to the surgery. He stated that the family went public about the transplant in order to raise awareness of the organ donation program. Mark Saunders