Chief Mark Saunders takes the helm
The top cop was glittering with regalia at his swearing-in. The Star looks at the meaning behind the gleaming
It was a moment that deserved a bit of pomp and ritual: Mark Saunders was officially sworn in as the city’s top cop at the Toronto Police Service’s College St. headquarters Wednesday. Some details from the ceremony: 1. The sword It’s the official gesture marking the change of command: the traditional hand-over of the “coveted sword” from the outgoing to the incoming chief.
The ceremonial silver sword has been used at the chief’s swearing in ceremony since Metropolitan Toronto was amalgamated in 1954. It is engraved with the crests and names of the former towns, villages and townships that comprised the new city: New Toronto, Mimico, Weston, Leaside, Long Branch, Swansea, Forest Hill, Etobicoke, York, North York, East York and Scarborough.
A new sword is forged for each chief; outgoing Chief Blair got to keep his as did every chief before him.
This year, Saunders’ sword was put straight to work, in a slight deviation from past ceremonies.
“It’s only messed up a little bit by the cake they cut today,” said Insp. Stu Eley, Saunders’ executive officer and the master of ceremonies at the ceremony. “I didn’t think that was part of the deal, but they did it anyway. New traditions are being made all the time.” 2. Medals On his left side, Saunders word two medals pinned to his navy dress uniform. One, marked by a blue-andyellow-striped band, is the Police Exemplary Service medal, issued by the federal government to an officer who has served 20 years without being convicted of serious misconduct that led to a Police Service Act charge. For every 10 years beyond that, an officer gets a metal band to go overtop the stripes.
The medal showing the Queen’s profile, attached to a red, white and blue striped band, marks Saunders as the recipient of a Diamond Jubilee Medal, given to recognize his public service. 3. The hat Look closely and notice that the brims of the hats worn by Toronto Police officers are far from uniform. The hat’s varying bands and decorations detail the rank of each officer. Inspectors have a black band around the brim, superintendents a gold band and deputy chiefs have one row of a gold, braid-like design that looks a bit like a laurel leaf encircling the brim.
The chief’s hat is one of a kind, the only one with two of the gold braids. And for anyone whose police-hat brim symbolism is not up to snuff, there’s another clue. The hat says Chief of Police in all capital letters. 4. Crest Right above his medals on the left side of his uniform, Saunders has a crest that signifies that he is an honorary aides-de-camp for the Lieutenant-Governor of Ontario. Part of a tradition that has existed since confederation in 1867, the crest signifies the ability to accompany the lieutenant-governor at official functions.