Jack Webster (August 1923 – June 27, 2002), nicknamed Copper Jack, was a leading police officer, administrator and police historian in
Toronto,
Ontario, Canada.
Webster was born in
Toronto to an immigrant family from
Scotland. At age sixteen, he lied about his age to join the
Royal Canadian Engineers; he later said that he was afraid
World War II would already be over if he waited until the legal age of eighteen. Webster was in the army for five years, and served in
France,
Belgium and the
Netherlands.
He joined the Toronto police force on the same day he was discharged from the army in 1945, and was assigned to a street patrol on Queen Street West. He once identified a person he had seen on his beat as escaped
German prisoner of war Wolfgang Friedlander, which nearly led to Friedlander's capture in
Quebec (Friedlander later turned himself in, fearing his identity would be discovered). Webster was the last
constable
A constable is a person holding a particular office, most commonly in criminal law enforcement. The office of constable can vary significantly in different jurisdictions. A constable is commonly the rank of an officer within the police. Other peop ...
to ride a bicycle on his beat, and was the last Toronto policeman to wear a bobby's helmet and tight-necked tunic on duty. In 1958, he was appointed to the city's newly formed Robbery Squad.
Webster later became commander of Toronto's homicide squad, and is credited with solving 85 murders. One of the murderers he helped capture was
Detroit gangster Arthur Lucas, who was one of the last two criminals executed in Canada before abolition of
capital punishment. Webster recounted that before his execution, Lucas calmly thanked Webster and his partner for handling the case in a fair manner. Webster said in a 1987 interview that he supported capital punishment, but did not believe it would be re-established in Canada.
Webster became chief of detectives, and was eventually chosen to lead the force in
Scarborough. In 1976, he became leader of the force in
Etobicoke with the rank of Staff Superintendent. He once declined an offer to become deputy police chief of
Metro Toronto. Had he accepted the offer, he could have become the city's Chief of Police.
[Gwyn (Jocko) Thomas, "Officer is a walking history of force", ''Toronto Star'', 30 June 1988, A9.]
He retired from the force in 1988, but returned to work as an official historian at the
Toronto Police Museum. In 1991, he published an autobiography entitled ''Copper Jack: My Life on the Force'', co-written with mystery writer Rosemary Aubert. He moved to
Winnipeg in 2000 to spend more time with his family. His daughter,
Rosemary Vodrey, was a senior
cabinet minister
A minister is a politician who heads a ministry, making and implementing decisions on policies in conjunction with the other ministers. In some jurisdictions the head of government is also a minister and is designated the ‘prime minister’, â ...
in the
Manitoba provincial government of
Gary Filmon during the 1990s.
Webster died in 2002, at age 78. Veteran ''
Toronto Star
The ''Toronto Star'' is a Canadian English-language broadsheet daily newspaper. The newspaper is the country's largest daily newspaper by circulation. It is owned by Toronto Star Newspapers Limited, a subsidiary of Torstar Corporation and part ...
'' crime reporter
Gwyn "Jocko" Thomas spoke at his funeral, and described him as a "superb police officer".
References
*Gwyn "Jocko" Thomas, "Copper Jack leaves a legacy -- Custodian of police history made plenty of his own", ''Toronto Star'', 12 September 2000, 1.
Ellis Quinn, "Police veteran 'Copper Jack' Webster" ''Toronto Star'', 29 June 2002, B3.
*Nicholas Keung, "Officer 'cast long shadow' --- Mourners remember Jack Webster's love of family, dedication", ''Toronto Star'', 3 July 2002, B5.
Footnotes
{{DEFAULTSORT:Webster, Jack
1923 births
2002 deaths
Toronto police officers
Canadian Army personnel of World War II
Royal Canadian Engineers soldiers
Canadian Army soldiers