William Higgins was the first high constable of the Toronto Police Department, appointed as High Bailiff after Toronto's incorporation in 1834. Higgins was appointed High Constable of the

Home District The Home District was one of four districts of the Province of Quebec created in 1788 in the western reaches of the Montreal District and detached in 1791 to create the new colony of Upper Canada. It was abolished with the adoption of the county ...

in 1826, a position that included being inspector of police for York, Upper Canada at a salary of £40 a year. When the city of Toronto was incorporated in 1834, the new city council unanimously appointed Higgins as High Bailiff, including the responsibility of being city inspector, with a salary of £125 a year while remaining High Constable (as well as the only constable) for the region. Higgins' term ended in scandal when he was implicated in the death of a man during election day anti-Tory rioting by largely disenfranchised Irish Catholic minority which was put down by a party of Protestant

Orangemen Orangemen or Orangewomen can refer to: *Historically, supporters of William of Orange *Members of the modern Orange Order (also known as Orange Institution), a Protestant fraternal organisation *Members or supporters of the Armagh GAA Gaelic foot ...

, led by Higgins. Mayor William Lyon Mackenzie, in his role as

chief magistrate Chief magistrate is a public official, executive or judicial, whose office is the highest in its class. Historically, the two different meanings of magistrate have often overlapped and refer to, as the case may be, to a major political and admini ...

, held a

police court Police court may refer to: * ''Police Court'' (film), a 1932 American film * Police tribunal (France) (''Tribunal de police''), the lowest level of criminal court in France * Police tribunal (Belgium) (''Politierechtbank''/''Tribunal de police'') ...

investigation and laid charges against Higgins. He was exonerated by the

grand jury A grand jury is a jury—a group of citizens—empowered by law to conduct legal proceedings, investigate potential criminal conduct, and determine whether criminal charges should be brought. A grand jury may subpoena physical evidence or a pe ...

in April 1835 but, by that point city council had already chosen not to reappoint him. He was subsequently appointed High Constable of York County and served for many years.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Higgins, William People of pre-Confederation Canada Toronto police chiefs