Dennis Draper

Brigadier-General Dennis Colburn Draper (February 20, 1875 – November 8, 1951) was a Canadian officer who served as the chief constable of the Toronto Police Department from 1928 to 1946.

Early life Draper was born and raised in Sutton in the Brome region of Quebec. He studied law at McGill University but dropped out before completing his studies in order to accept a position with the International Paper Company in Quebec.

Military career Active in the Canadian Militia prior to 1914, when World War I broke out, he enlisted with the 5th Canadian Mounted Rifles and went overseas with the rank of major. He received a field promotion to lieutenant colonel in 1918 and made commanding officer of the unit and was subsequently promoted to brigadier general and put in command of the 8th Canadian Infantry Brigade. He was appointed a Companion of the Order of St Michael and St George in the 1919 New Year Honours, for services rendered in connection with military operations in France and Flanders.

Political candidate In the 1917 federal election, Draper was the governing Conservative Party's candidate in Brome and lost by less than 500 votes.

Police Chief A retired Brigadier-General in the Canadian Army with no background in police work as well as a failed Conservative candidate, Draper was brought to Toronto because the police commission believed they needed a strict disciplinarian to reorganize the force along military lines. They approached the Defence Department which recommended Draper, who after the war was working for the Abitibi Power and Paper Company. Mayor Sam McBride opposed Draper's appointment arguing that the new chief should be promoted from within the force.

Conversely, Draper did little to stop the 1933 Riot at Christie Pits two days later in which youth members of local Swastika clubs battled Jewish youth for more than four hours. Police Chief Dennis Draper was asked why there were only two policemen at the park that day when there had been prior indications of trouble and the fact that two nights before, in contrast with his force's sending dozens of police on horseback and motorcycle to disrupt the left wing meeting at Allan Gardens. Draper dismissed the riot, saying that "Hebrew people arrived and caused trouble."

Suspicious of "foreigners", Draper lobbied the City of Toronto to pass legislation banning public speeches in languages other than English, particularly Yiddish, curtailing union organization among Toronto's vast immigrant populations working in sweat shops.

Draper resigned as chief on January 18, 1946, at what was reported to be the age of 72, (this was disputed by the Mayor, an opponent of Draper, who claimed that since Draper gave his age at 58 when he was hired in 1928, he was actually 76 in 1946), following a general housecleaning of the police department and the encouraged retirement of a number of long serving officers by the police commission. Not eligible for a pension as he had never been a frontline officer, he was persuaded to resign with an offer that the department would continue to pay him a salary of $2,000 for at least five years to act as a "consultant".