Harold Adamson (1921 – December 6, 2001) was Chief of the

Metropolitan Toronto Police The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is a municipal police force in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the primary agency responsible for providing law enforcement and policing services in Toronto. Established in 1834, it was the first local police ser ...

in the 1970s and served as a police officer for 41 years until his retirement in 1980."ADAMSON: Harold, 80: Ex-chief earned officers' respect: Chief presided over reforms but stood by police", ''Toronto Star'', February 7, 2001 Adamson's first foray into law enforcement was at the age of 18 when he came across a burglar in his home and hit him with his

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. He joined the

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Police Department the next year, rising to the rank of

Deputy Chief Chief Deputy is a rank/title used in American/Canadian law enforcement. The position of chief deputy is primarily found within sheriff's offices throughout the United States, and also exists for marshals’ police departments as well as constables ...

. In 1953, he came to public attention when, as a

police inspector Inspector, also police inspector or inspector of police, is a police rank. The rank or position varies in seniority depending on the organization that uses it. Australia In Australian police forces, the rank of inspector is generally the ne ...

, he investigated the disappearance of Scarborough teenager Marion McDowell, organizing what was then the largest

manhunt Manhunt may refer to: Search processes * Manhunt (law enforcement), a search for a dangerous fugitive * Manhunt (military), a search for a high-value target by special operations forces or intelligence agencies Social organisations * Manhun ...

in Toronto history for the missing girl. The case was never solved. By 1956, the Scarborough Police Department was amalgamated with other Toronto-area police forces to become the

in 1957. In 1970 he became the new force's third chief with the retirement of James Page Mackey. The police force in the 1970s had to cope with a growing population, rising crime rate, and declining respect for authority. The Toronto Police faced public anger and charges of racism following the fatal shooting of Albert Johnson by a police officer in 1979. A royal commission under Justice Donald Morand investigated the police during his tenure and found acts of police brutality and police officers giving false testimony under oath.

Mel Lastman Melvin Douglas Lastman (March 9, 1933 – December 11, 2021) was a Canadian businessman and politician who served as the third mayor of North York from 1973 to 1997 and 62nd mayor of Toronto from 1998 to 2003. He was the first person to serve ...

, mayor of the

Metropolitan Toronto The Municipality of Metropolitan Toronto was an upper-tier level of municipal government in Ontario, Canada, from 1953 to 1998. It was made up of the old city of Toronto and numerous townships, towns and villages that surrounded Toronto, whic ...

borough of North York in the 1970s, said that Adamson responded to complaints of "outlawed displays of bigotry on the force, instituted new procedures following the Morand report into allegations of police brutality and commissioned the Hickling Johnson Report on adapting to the future." Adamson also pushed to recruit more minorities, and oversaw changes such as improving

officer training A military academy or service academy is an educational institution which prepares candidates for service in the officer corps. It normally provides education in a military environment, the exact definition depending on the country concerned. ...

, and expanding work among

youth Youth is the time of life when one is young. The word, youth, can also mean the time between childhood and adulthood ( maturity), but it can also refer to one's peak, in terms of health or the period of life known as being a young adult. Yo ...

in crime prevention. On October 5, 2005, nine days before his 58th birthday, Adamson's son, retired Staff-Sergeant Edward William John "Eddie" Adamson, committed suicide, suffering from

post-traumatic stress disorder Post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) is a mental and behavioral disorder that can develop because of exposure to a traumatic event, such as sexual assault, warfare, traffic collisions, child abuse, domestic violence, or other threats o ...

as a result of his failed efforts to save a fallen officer during a

hostage A hostage is a person seized by an abductor in order to compel another party, one which places a high value on the liberty, well-being and safety of the person seized, such as a relative, employer, law enforcement or government to act, or refr ...

situation on March 14, 1980. In 2008, the

Workplace Safety & Insurance Board The Workplace Safety and Insurance Board (WSIB; french: Commission de la sécurité professionnelle et de l'assurance contre les accidents du travail, CSPAAT) is the workplace compensation board for provincially regulated workplaces in Ontario ...

declared officially his death was ruled a work-related injury. His family was informed in April 2017 that his name will be placed on the Police Service Honor Roll. Eddie's daughter, Julie, is a retired Staff Sergeant with York Regional Police."Overdue honour: Staff Sergeant Eddie Adamson to be honoured on the Toronto Police Honour Roll"
''militarybruce.com'' June 15, 2017 Of being police chief, Adamson once said, "this is a job that will never give you a swelled head. I didn't accept it with any great degree of relish. It was very nice to be made chief of police, but I certainly knew I wasn't in for any picnic."

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Adamson, Harold 1921 births 2001 deaths People from Scarborough, Toronto Toronto police chiefs