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Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair’s contract will not be renewed, board declares

Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair’s contract will not be renewed, board declares

Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair’s contract will not be renewed, spelling an end to a decade-long command over the country’s largest municipal police force that was spotted by several controversies, including a public feud with the city’s suspect mayor.

The Toronto Police Service Board announced on Wednesday that it would not be renewing Blair’s employment agreement. His final term of office will end on April 25, 2015.

According to the Board statement:

Chief Blair has had a long and distinguished policing career with the Toronto Police Service. He is widely viewed as a champion of community policing and a leader in law enforcement around the world.

He has demonstrated his commitment to issues of human rights, diversity and integrity, among many others, and has served Toronto admirably and tirelessly.

There will be an opportunity in the months to come to offer Chief Blair a fitting tribute for his years of dedicated and honourable service to our community. At this time, on behalf of all Torontonians, the Board extends to Chief Blair our sincere gratitude for his outstanding record of public service and inspiring leadership.

The announcement comes on the same day that one of Blair’s officers was charged with an additional offense in a public shooting that shook the city’s confidence in the police force.

Blair faced significant heat after the 2013 death of Sammy Yatim, a Toronto teen who was shot and killed by Toronto police while brandishing a knife on board an empty streetcar. Const. James Forcillo was charged with second-degree murder, and on Wednesday was further charged with attempted murder. Blair, meantime, promised a full review of police actions.

Blair's tenure as Toronto's police chief also included the contentious G20 Summit in 2010, which raised charges and allegations of heavy-handed tactics used by the force while policing the downtown during the international gathering.

More recently, Blair was forced into the political realm by an investigation into possible drug connections between Mayor Rob Ford and an Etobicoke street gang. Blair publicly confirmed that the investigation had turned up a copy of a video of Ford reported smoking what appeared to be crack cocaine. Ford later confirmed that he was smoking crack, but the revelation of the video's existence, and Blair's role in it, prompted accusations that he had overstepped his mandate.

Coun. Doug Ford, the mayor's campaign manager, demanded Blair resign from his position.

The Toronto Police Service Board said it would begin its search for Blair's replacement soon. No further details have been released.