by Judi McLeod, Editor
August 3-17, 1999
Even with the money in the bank, Toronto Police helicopter patrols remain on ice. Although Toronto's finest had to call on two helicopters shared by Peel, Durham, Hamilton and Burlington police on the fateful morning of July 14 when P.C. Patrick Ferdinand took a bullet in the face, the subject of Toronto's $1-million helicopter project has been closed indefinitely.
The blond-haired Caucasian and dark-skinned, believed-to-be Asian gunmen are still at large at press time.
Even though it is costing them zero, Toronto politicians remain steadfast in not wanting our police force to have their choppers.
Private and corporate donors have already contributed about $750,000 for the helicopters, but some councillors are getting headlines with the argument that the real game plan is a permanent helicopter program at taxpayer expense.
The latest skirmish marks the second time local politicians have hijacked police helicopter patrols paid for by private donors.
In September 1998, Toronto Free Press broke a story about how municipal politicians on the Toronto Police Services Board quietly turned down a commitment by the Toronto Dominion Bank to give two helicopters--gratis--to the local police force.
The TD offer of two choppers--worth more than $3 million at the time--came with no strings attached, TD officials having ultimately declined to display the bank's familiar 'green machine' logo on the fleet.
Publicity shy TD brass had PR employees water down the terms of the commitment to an enquiring media at the time.
"Politics notwithstanding, John Q. Public has been hittingthe telephone lines to tell me to keep up the fight for the choppers."
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"Yes, it's true that the TD offered two helicopters for our police free of charge," Toronto Police Services Board Chairman Coun. Norm Gardner (North York Centre) confirmed for Toronto Free Press last September.
Gardner, who is consistent with complaints that Toronto is one of the few major cities in North America with no helicopters for its police force, says he only found out about the TD chopper offer "by virtue of rumours I followed up on."
The new $750,000 collection sitting in an interest-bearing bank account is 'Chopper Chop, Round Two'.
City politicians, who claim they really want the force to have a helicopter patrol, have proven no match for Budget Chief Tom Jakobek.
"There is already too much pressure on our budget," said Toronto Police Services Board member Coun. Judy Sgro, (North York Humber) who adds that she doesn't anticipate any serious dialogue about the helicopters before next year.
Chief council lobbyist against the copter project is budget chief Coun. Tom Jakobek (East Toronto), charging that the police department has already overspent its $522.9 million budget by some $10 million.
Jakobek, who on March 31took possession of a 1998 Porsche Boxster convertible, refers to the police helicopter project as an "expensive toy". But critics question whether the Porsche is an appropriate image for a budget chief and councillor who would be mayor.
It has been a long road for the 1998 Porsche Boxster convertible before it ended up in the Jakobek driveway on Glen Oak Drive in the Beaches. Casino Auto Wholesale Limited purchased it from Holland Leasing in Montreal. Casino Auto Wholesale then sold the vehicle to Auto Hemisphere at 316 Des Melezes in Piedmount, Que. It is not clear to whom they sold it at this point, but the Porsche ended up with Segal Motor Car Company at 8700 Dufferin St. in Vaughan as of Sept. 15, 1998.
Toronto Free Press was not able to ascertain who sold the car to Jakobek. But it is likely Segal Motor Car Company Inc. made the sale directly, unless the dealership sold it to someone outside of Ontario, who in turn sold it to Jakobek, sometime between Sept. 15, 1998 and March 31, 1999. TFP was unable to determine how much the car was sold for or who paid for it. A search of the Personal Property Registration system under the confirmed vehicle identification number for the car shows no registrations against the vehicle, meaning that no one has a security interest in the vehicle for financing.
Thus the Porsche was likely paid for in full. (It is possible a loan for the luxury vehicle had been paid by the time of the TFP search on June 15, 1999.)
The issue of police helicopters is further complicated by the state of the cruiser fleet, with one city hall civil servant claiming "some of the cars are held together by bubblegum".
Police Association President Craig Bromell has not lent his support to the helicopter project because statistics indicate some of his members are driving around town in dilapidated cruisers, some of which he described as literally falling to pieces right under them.
Meanwhile, Gardner accuses Jakobek of unfairly criticizing the program, which he says clearly has the support of the public at large.
"Politics notwithstanding, John Q. Public has been hitting the telephone lines to tell me to keep up the fight for the choppers,"Gardner said.
Jakobek counters that according to the calls he gets, the public doesn’t support the helicopter purchase program.
Sgro accuses Gardner of acting against council: "To defy council this way, I think you'll find it could have some backlashes on Norm," she said.
Gardner, who says the police and citizens in a certain area are frustrated to watch suspected drug dealers running away to ravines without worry of apprehension, vows to continue the chopper crusade.
"I do not think copters are the cat's meow for everything. But in fighting crime, they have proven their worth in other cities," he notes.
Having visited Britain's Scotland Yard police headquarters to study the benefits of helicopters used in crime fighting, he says choppers are useful in areas other than police chases.
"They are used successfully to reroute traffic, as a backup in disengaging ground chases. They are literally observation posts in the air and take evidence in the air by videotaping."
Police helicopters, he says, can save days and even weeks of paperwork necessary for court appearances, and are, thus helpful for freeing up police officers for other assignments.
Asked whether having a Toronto police helicopter available when Constable Ferdinand was shot would have meant a difference in apprehending the two gunmen, Gardner replied without hesitation: "Yes, I think it could have made all the difference."
Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com
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