#4 District
2700 Rutherford Road, Vaughan

Command Team:
Superintendent Tony Cusimano
Inspector Les Young

Superintendent Tony Cusimano and Inspector Les Young lead 210 police officers and eight civilian members in providing law enforcement and crime prevention services for City of Vaughan and southern King Township residents, businesses and local attractions including Canada’s Wonderland and Vaughan Mills Mall.

The City of Vaughan is one of the fastest growing municipalities in Canada and is home to more than 250,000 people and a strong commercial and industrial population.

According to Statistics Canada, the population grew an astounding 276 per cent between 1986 and 2006. Vaughan’s ethnic diversity has grown with the population, with more than 70 languages spoken by Vaughan residents.

In addition to its busy patrol and enforcement duties, District officers participated in a variety of community events, including several athletic challenges against high school students, Cops for Cancer and the Woodbridge Remembrance Day ceremony.

 Our Officers in Action

Disaster Unites Community

Shortly after 6 p.m. on August 20, 2009, a series of F-2 tornadoes touched down in the City of Vaughan, destroying and damaging dozens of homes and businesses. In a matter of minutes, roofs were stripped from houses, trees were toppled and power lines were downed during the violent storm that brought heavy rain, high winds and funnel clouds across Southern Ontario.

The first tornado touched down in Woodbridge near Highway 7 and Martin Grove Road. Subsequent tornadoes touched down in neighbourhoods at Andrew Park and Martin Grove Road, Houston Road and Moonstone Place, Islington Avenue and Gamble Road, Cunningham Drive and Jane Street and Teston Road between Jane and Keele Streets.

York Regional Police, along with Vaughan Fire and Rescue Services, immediately responded to hundreds of emergency calls coming from across the city. Officers and rescue personnel performed targeted searches for victims and to identify hazards. Hundreds of unsafe homes in Woodbridge and Maple were then evacuated and residents relocated to places of safety. Duty Inspector Doug Conley ensured the Community Mobile Police Station and the Mobile Command Post were operational to assist residents needing shelter and information.

Every available York Regional Police officer responded to assist residents, working side-by-side with other emergency responders amid scattered debris, gas leaks and power outages. Miraculously, there were no serious injuries reported in York Region. 

In the aftermath, an amazing thing happened.

People opened their homes to neighbours, offering food, clothing and shelter to those displaced by the storm. 

“We had 2,500 to 3,000 displaced people following the storms and found they didn’t need the evacuation facilities,” said York Regional Police Chief Armand La Barge. “It just speaks to the real sense of community in these areas.”

While officers and volunteers worked the scene of the disaster, another team was working diligently 20 kilometres away at York Regional Police headquarters in Newmarket. Communications Bureau staff took hundreds of emergency calls from panicked residents, dispatched officers and cars where needed and logged and shared vital information. In a three-hour period between 6 and 9 p.m., Communications Bureau staff received close to 500 emergency 9-1-1 calls related to the Vaughan tornadoes – the same number of calls received during an average 12-hour shift.

Many hearts and hands came together that day to help City of Vaughan residents struggling with the results of the unexpected disaster. Communications staff, Auxiliary Unit officers, civilian members, staff at Vaughan Fire and Rescue Services and the municipality all worked in unison to help those in need.

But it was the fast response of #4 District staff, those working in uniform who stayed hours past the end of their shift to assist, detectives in the Criminal Investigation Bureau who changed from plainclothes to uniform so residents could easily identify them and those officers in the Community Oriented Response Unit, whose knowledge of existing community resources proved invaluable, who made an incredible impact that day.

“I couldn’t be more proud of the way #4 District officers responded to this disaster,” said Superintendent Tony Cusimano. “Their dedication and commitment to the safety of our community, in the face of a major catastrophe, was nothing short of inspiring.”