predecessor successor death_date birth_place death_place religion nationality office birth_date term_start spouse article_title term_end name occupation
francis collier draper samuel j. dickson 30 september 1930 toronto , canada west toronto , ontario anglican english chief constable of the toronto police department 18 june 1847 1886 katharine parke -lrb- m. 1887-1926 , her death -rrb- h. j. grasett
 1920 henry james grasett army officer
h. j. grasett

lieutenant-colonel henry james grasett , cmg , -lrb- june 18 , 1847 -- september 30 , 1930 -rrb- was a canadian army and militia officer and toronto police chief .
he is the longest-serving police chief in the history of the toronto police having served for 34 years from 1886 to 1920 as chief constable .
grasett was the third son of a reverend henry james grasett , the rector of st. james cathedral in toronto , and sarah maria stewart .
he was educated at a toronto private school and at leamington college for boys in england .
at 19 , he returned to canada and joined the canadian militia .
he fought on the niagara peninsula during the fenian raid of 1866 with the 2nd battalion , volunteer militia rifles of toronto , in 1867 , he joined the british army serving with the royal canadian regiment in canada and england and rose to the rank of lieutenant by the time he retired to toronto in 1875 , where he became a partner in a firm of shipping and commission merchants .
in 1885 , he was given the rank of lieutenant colonel in the militia and put in command of the 10th battalion royal grenadiers which fought in several battles during the north-west rebellion of 1885 .
on december 1 , 1886 , grasett was appointed chief constable of toronto .
during his command of the toronto police he saw the force grow from 172 to 662 men .
under grasett , the police remained largely british and protestant in composition .
patrolmen were armed for the first time under grasett .
he also oversaw innovations such as the institution of an electric call box and signal system , patrol wagons , bicycles , motorcycles and ultimately police cars and also reorganized the morality squad and department of detectives .
training and promotion was modelled on the military .
grasett served as vice-president of the international association of chiefs of police in 1902 and as president of the chief constables ' association of canada in 1906 .
unlike previous toronto chief constables , grasett largely refrained from making controversial public statements except during world war i when he spoke out against foreigners in toronto and banned outdoor anti-conscription meetings .
he was appointed to the order of st michael and st george in 1916 for his contributions to the war effort .
in 1918 , dissatisfied with wages , discipline and work conditions , toronto police constables unionized , joined the toronto trades and labour council , and went on strike .
at the provincial commission that was created to investigate the unrest , grasett expressed his opposition to one of the union 's key demands , promotion by seniority .
grasett retired as chief constable in 1920 , at the age of 73 .
he died of pneumonia at his home in 1930 and was buried in st james ' cemetery .
