Rookie Helps Arrest Carjacker
Officers from 53 Division responding to a carjacking arrested an armed suspect without incident.
"The victim had just had her car keys and cash taken at knife point,” said Constable William Blainey who was one of the arresting officers. “We already had a unit responding.”
When the suspect was confronted by police, he fled on foot.
“As I was responding to the call, I noticed the foot pursuit go by me,” Blainey said. “I turned my vehicle around and caught up to the pursuit. I exited my vehicle and assisted the officer in chasing the male to the back of a house. We forced him out to the front of the house where we are able to catch up with him and successfully make the arrest. It happened within the span of a few minutes, but it felt like longer. We worked together as a team to get this done.”
Constable Pilar Johnson said Blainey was a fantastic addition to their team.
“He is definitely a go-getter and jumped right in,” she added.
Constable Jason Boyle is proud of Blainey, who he coached as a new officer.
“When I learned of what Officer Blainey did, there is a sense of being proud,” he said. “Any call that involves a person with a knife is very scary. He handled it professionally and with the proper amount of force. That is all we can really ask for.”
The day after graduation from Ontario and Toronto Police College training, recruits head out to their Divisions for station orientation before being matched up with a Coach Officer who partners with them.
“They bring a wealth of experience under their belt and they want to be able to share that with you so that you can learn from their experiences and handle calls in the most effective way possible,” Blainey said. “We get exposure to all different types of calls. Everyone on my platoon has made me feel very welcomed. It feels really good to be part of a Service that works together as a team to keep our community safe.”