Toronto Police Museum and Discovery Centre

I’d almost given up on the chance to visit the Toronto Police Museum and Discovery Centre this year, as (like Old City Hall) it’s only open during the working week. I’m glad I made the effort this afternoon, because it was quite rewarding.

Especially as someone who enjoys Murdoch Mysteries, whose creators I’m absolutely sure must have done some of their background research here.

This terrific free museum is packed with interesting exhibits, to do with the history of the Toronto police force (of course), police in the community, traffic, investigative techniques, substance abuse, and, for the slightly morbid amongst us, artifacts from real local cases. Including one about a murdered librarian (not shared here).

A historic and North York related case, which had been written up by the North York Historical Society, appealed to me (see Where was Boyd Gang in September 1952? Hiding in North York, As it Turns Out).

The Boyd Gang's gun, uh, mannequin head, and artificial leg, on display at the Toronto Police Museum and Discovery Centre. — The Boyd Gang’s gun, uh, mannequin head, and artificial leg, on display at the Toronto Police Museum and Discovery Centre.

The accompanying text reads:

The Boyd Gang – Edwin Alonzo Boyd, Leonard Jackson, William Jackson (no relation) and Valent Lesso (alias Steve Suchan) – were among Toronto’s most notorious criminals. Among them, they committed at least 10 armed bank robberies between 1949 and 1952, and escaped twice from the Don Jail.

The public outrage against them reached a peak on March 6, 1952 when two police officers were shot, one fatally. Before he died, Sergeant of Detectives Edmund Tong told police that Suchan had shot him.

Police arrested the gang members, and found firearms and this mannequin head which showed that the gang had been perfecting their shooting skills with target practice.

Their second jail escape was even more daring than the first one. They fashioned a key to their cell door, and cut a second-storey window’s bars with a saw that had been concealed in the boot of Leonard Jackson’s artificial foot. After a huge manhunt, police captured the gang in an abandoned barn near Yonge and Sheppard.

All four were convicted on charges of armed robbery and auto theft. Leonard Jackson and Steve Suchan were executed by hanging for the murder of Sergeant of Detectives Edmund Tong.

Yikes.

I must give a shout-out to Elmer the Safety Elephant, who figured largely in my childhood, having been raised by a highway engineer.

I can hear my father saying, "Remember Elmer the Safety Elephant and look both ways before you cross the street." Elmer's made me paranoid about jaywalking forever. — I can hear my father saying, “Remember Elmer the Safety Elephant and look both ways before you cross the street.” Elmer’s made me paranoid about jaywalking forever.

Yes, here’s one of the Ontario Ministry of Transportation’s public service announcements from the 1970s. I’m so glad the Archives of Ontario is digitizing and making this kind of material available. It’s gold!

The Toronto Police Museum and Discovery Centre is museum no. 19 in my #100museums challenge (see 100 Museums Challenge).