'Pure evil': Canadian serial killer is sentenced to life in prison for murdering eight gay men

[basquebromance]

remind me not to go to Canada

Judge sentences Canadian serial killer to life in prison | Daily Mail Online

 

[aaronleland]

I had never heard of this dude until today. Apparently he would pose his victims with cigars in their mouths, and wearing fur coats and hats. What a silly goose.

 

[Dragonlady]

remind me not to go to Canada

Judge sentences Canadian serial killer to life in prison | Daily Mail Online

This guy was operating in my old neighbourhood. Disgusting.

But the worst of it was that the police issued no warnings to the gay community throughout his reign of terror. I can remember that shortly around the time I moved out of Toronto, there were handbills being posted around Toronto, asking anyone if they had seen these men, who were gay and had disappeared in the Gay Village (Church/Wellesley), and it warned gay men in the Village to be careful. All three, it turns out, were victims of this asshat.

The police should have been doing that. Warning gay men there was a predator on the loose.

 

[Chiara]

He even dismembered those bodies and dressed them for "sick photos"....this man is not a criminal. He look like a psychopath
Maybe he doesn't deserve prison but a good lunatic asylum...

 

[martybegan]

remind me not to go to Canada

Judge sentences Canadian serial killer to life in prison | Daily Mail Online

This guy was operating in my old neighbourhood. Disgusting.

But the worst of it was that the police issued no warnings to the gay community throughout his reign of terror. I can remember that shortly around the time I moved out of Toronto, there were handbills being posted around Toronto, asking anyone if they had seen these men, who were gay and had disappeared in the Gay Village (Church/Wellesley), and it warned gay men in the Village to be careful. All three, it turns out, were victims of this asshat.

The police should have been doing that. Warning gay men there was a predator on the loose.

The original killings were of either closeted men or homeless/drug addicts. The secrecy of the first group and the itinerant nature of the second makes pattern forming difficult. What nailed the guy is when he switched to a victim that people would know was missing.

Also the only reason they really knew that had a serial killer is they found out he documented it when they found him with the live one.

 

[Dragonlady]

remind me not to go to Canada

Judge sentences Canadian serial killer to life in prison | Daily Mail Online

This guy was operating in my old neighbourhood. Disgusting.

But the worst of it was that the police issued no warnings to the gay community throughout his reign of terror. I can remember that shortly around the time I moved out of Toronto, there were handbills being posted around Toronto, asking anyone if they had seen these men, who were gay and had disappeared in the Gay Village (Church/Wellesley), and it warned gay men in the Village to be careful. All three, it turns out, were victims of this asshat.

The police should have been doing that. Warning gay men there was a predator on the loose.

The original killings were of either closeted men or homeless/drug addicts. The secrecy of the first group and the itinerant nature of the second makes pattern forming difficult. What nailed the guy is when he switched to a victim that people would know was missing.

Also the only reason they really knew that had a serial killer is they found out he documented it when they found him with the live one.

I really feel sorry for those poor people who owned the property where he hid the bodies in planters. Imagine finding out this horror had been going in their yard, and under their noses, by a trusted friend, in their shed, for years. I'm sure these people will be haunted by nightmares for the rest of their lives.

Canadian real estate law requires "disclosure" of untoward happenings on a property - like a murder or a suicide, so when this property is sold, the sellers will have to disclose that the property is the site of these dismemberments and burials. These people will be emotionally and financially destroyed and they have done asbolutely nothing wrong.

He also had a roommate, who may have interrupted one of his murders and saved the guy's life. Imagine how this guy feels, wondering how it was that this creep spared him. Imagine his nightmares for years to come.

Not all of his victims are dead.

Also, those who say that he got away with his crimes for so long because his victims weren't missed. That simply isn't true. I lived in downtown Toronto at the time of these killings. I saw the handbills about the missing men posted all over the downtown core, but most definitely throughout the Church/Wellesley gay village.

How alleged Toronto serial killer Bruce McArthur went unnoticed

The gay community and Toronto police have a long history of well placed mistrust and fear. Toronto had their own version of "Stonehouse" back in the 1960's, out of which the Gay Pride movement was born. Rolling queers in the park for fun and profit was openly tolerated by police in the 60's and 70's, and gays who tried to file charges often found themselves charged for soliciting sex in the park. Being gay was still illegal at the time.

The gay community was issuing warnings that a predator was on the loose in 2013, when I moved out of Toronto. Every time a reporter asked Toronto police about this possibility, it was dismissed utterly. For three long years, while gays desperately tried to get a proper serial killer investigation going, police were just dismissing the community's concerns. This issue has deepened the rift between Toronto's gay community and the police.

This isn't the first time that Toronto police have denied a serial predator was on the loose, in the same neighbourhood. The Balcony Rapist also operated in the Church/Wellesley area, climbing in through balcony doors and attacking women while they slept. There are hundreds of high rise and low rise building in the area, and is the most densely populated area of the city.

The police issued no warnings, basically staking out buildings he had hit, and using the unsuspecting women living in them as bait. When they arrested this guy and I saw his picture, I immediately recognized him as someone who I had seen in our Wellesley Street building and had reported to management because of his disturbing behaviour. One of his victims during this time sued Toronto police for failure to warn the public and won a 6-figure settlement.

 

[martybegan]

remind me not to go to Canada

Judge sentences Canadian serial killer to life in prison | Daily Mail Online

This guy was operating in my old neighbourhood. Disgusting.

But the worst of it was that the police issued no warnings to the gay community throughout his reign of terror. I can remember that shortly around the time I moved out of Toronto, there were handbills being posted around Toronto, asking anyone if they had seen these men, who were gay and had disappeared in the Gay Village (Church/Wellesley), and it warned gay men in the Village to be careful. All three, it turns out, were victims of this asshat.

The police should have been doing that. Warning gay men there was a predator on the loose.

The original killings were of either closeted men or homeless/drug addicts. The secrecy of the first group and the itinerant nature of the second makes pattern forming difficult. What nailed the guy is when he switched to a victim that people would know was missing.

Also the only reason they really knew that had a serial killer is they found out he documented it when they found him with the live one.

I really feel sorry for those poor people who owned the property where he hid the bodies in planters. Imagine finding out this horror had been going in their yard, and under their noses, by a trusted friend, in their shed, for years. I'm sure these people will be haunted by nightmares for the rest of their lives.

Canadian real estate law requires "disclosure" of untoward happenings on a property - like a murder or a suicide, so when this property is sold, the sellers will have to disclose that the property is the site of these dismemberments and burials. These people will be emotionally and financially destroyed and they have done asbolutely nothing wrong.

He also had a roommate, who may have interrupted one of his murders and saved the guy's life. Imagine how this guy feels, wondering how it was that this creep spared him. Imagine his nightmares for years to come.

Not all of his victims are dead.

Also, those who say that he got away with his crimes for so long because his victims weren't missed. That simply isn't true. I lived in downtown Toronto at the time of these killings. I saw the handbills about the missing men posted all over the downtown core, but most definitely throughout the Church/Wellesley gay village.

How alleged Toronto serial killer Bruce McArthur went unnoticed

The gay community and Toronto police have a long history of well placed mistrust and fear. Toronto had their own version of "Stonehouse" back in the 1960's, out of which the Gay Pride movement was born. Rolling queers in the park for fun and profit was openly tolerated in the 60's and 70's.

The gay community was issuing warnings that a predator was on the loose in 2013, when I moved out of Toronto. Every time a reporter asked Toronto police about this possibility, it was dismissed utterly. For three long years, while gays desperately tried to get a proper serial killer investigation going, police were just dismissing the community's concerns. This issue has deepened the rift between Toronto's gay community and the police.

This isn't the first time that Toronto police have denied a serial predator was on the loose. The Balcony Rapist also operated in the same neighbourhood, climbing in through balcony doors and attacking women while they slept. The police issued no warnings, basically staking out buildings he had hit, and using the unsuspecting women living in them as bait. When they arrested this guy and I saw his picture, I immediately recognized him as someone who I had seen in our Wellesley Street building and had reported to management because of his disturbing behaviour. One of his victims during this time sued Toronto police for failure to warn the public and won a 6-figure settlement.

Out of all missing men in the area/group, how many were victims of this guy?

The police can't go crying serial killer every time a group of people go missing, especially people on the margins of society, or those who's link to the crime are hidden from people that know them.

Please remember that there is always bias created from knowing information NOW and thinking it was availible THEN for those doing the investigation.

Remember all the body parts were found AFTER they arrested the guy, before that it was all cases of missing people with no forensic or other evidence of the people being dead.

This guy went through a lot of effort to hide his crimes, and only screwed up by selecting a victim that wasn't either closeted or part of the outskirts of society.

 

[Dragonlady]

remind me not to go to Canada

Judge sentences Canadian serial killer to life in prison | Daily Mail Online

This guy was operating in my old neighbourhood. Disgusting.

But the worst of it was that the police issued no warnings to the gay community throughout his reign of terror. I can remember that shortly around the time I moved out of Toronto, there were handbills being posted around Toronto, asking anyone if they had seen these men, who were gay and had disappeared in the Gay Village (Church/Wellesley), and it warned gay men in the Village to be careful. All three, it turns out, were victims of this asshat.

The police should have been doing that. Warning gay men there was a predator on the loose.

The original killings were of either closeted men or homeless/drug addicts. The secrecy of the first group and the itinerant nature of the second makes pattern forming difficult. What nailed the guy is when he switched to a victim that people would know was missing.

Also the only reason they really knew that had a serial killer is they found out he documented it when they found him with the live one.

I really feel sorry for those poor people who owned the property where he hid the bodies in planters. Imagine finding out this horror had been going in their yard, and under their noses, by a trusted friend, in their shed, for years. I'm sure these people will be haunted by nightmares for the rest of their lives.

Canadian real estate law requires "disclosure" of untoward happenings on a property - like a murder or a suicide, so when this property is sold, the sellers will have to disclose that the property is the site of these dismemberments and burials. These people will be emotionally and financially destroyed and they have done asbolutely nothing wrong.

He also had a roommate, who may have interrupted one of his murders and saved the guy's life. Imagine how this guy feels, wondering how it was that this creep spared him. Imagine his nightmares for years to come.

Not all of his victims are dead.

Also, those who say that he got away with his crimes for so long because his victims weren't missed. That simply isn't true. I lived in downtown Toronto at the time of these killings. I saw the handbills about the missing men posted all over the downtown core, but most definitely throughout the Church/Wellesley gay village.

How alleged Toronto serial killer Bruce McArthur went unnoticed

The gay community and Toronto police have a long history of well placed mistrust and fear. Toronto had their own version of "Stonehouse" back in the 1960's, out of which the Gay Pride movement was born. Rolling queers in the park for fun and profit was openly tolerated in the 60's and 70's.

The gay community was issuing warnings that a predator was on the loose in 2013, when I moved out of Toronto. Every time a reporter asked Toronto police about this possibility, it was dismissed utterly. For three long years, while gays desperately tried to get a proper serial killer investigation going, police were just dismissing the community's concerns. This issue has deepened the rift between Toronto's gay community and the police.

This isn't the first time that Toronto police have denied a serial predator was on the loose. The Balcony Rapist also operated in the same neighbourhood, climbing in through balcony doors and attacking women while they slept. The police issued no warnings, basically staking out buildings he had hit, and using the unsuspecting women living in them as bait. When they arrested this guy and I saw his picture, I immediately recognized him as someone who I had seen in our Wellesley Street building and had reported to management because of his disturbing behaviour. One of his victims during this time sued Toronto police for failure to warn the public and won a 6-figure settlement.

Out of all missing men in the area/group, how many were victims of this guy?

The police can't go crying serial killer every time a group of people go missing, especially people on the margins of society, or those who's link to the crime are hidden from people that know them.

Please remember that there is always bias created from knowing information NOW and thinking it was availible THEN for those doing the investigation.

Remember all the body parts were found AFTER they arrested the guy, before that it was all cases of missing people with no forensic or other evidence of the people being dead.

This guy went through a lot of effort to hide his crimes, and only screwed up by selecting a victim that wasn't either closeted or part of the outskirts of society.

Every one of the men that were posted about in the community handbills warning of a serial killer, were killed by Bruce McArthur. All of these men had families who were searching for them. The families seemed to know their loved ones were gay, or bi-sexual. I've been trying to find one of these handbills online to post it here.

The handbill also warned that the community believed a serial killer was on the loose and the police were not taking the concern seriously. It warned all gay men to be careful of their interactions in the Village, and asked all non-gays to pass this information on to any gay men they knew who frequented the village.

Gay men who knew McArthur, were warning other gay men about him. The police really botched this from the get-go, and now they're trying to blame the community whose concerns they ignored for years, for not doing enough to assist the investigation.

 

[Dragonlady]

Can I add that Toronto is a city of neighbourhoods, each with its own unique character, and often, it's own ethnicity. Our police have a long sad history of ignoring neighbourhood concerns, patting us on the head, and telling us we don't know jack! It's not just the gay community that has issues with Toronto Police, and their lack of community awareness. They are very quick to blame communities for a "lack of cooperation", but fail to twig to the idea that when you ignore people why they TRY to talk to you, they tend to give up trying after a time.

But with the gay community the relationship is complicated by the history of bathhouse raids, arrests, and failures to protect members of the gay community from beatings, muggings. And now this!

 

[martybegan]

remind me not to go to Canada

Judge sentences Canadian serial killer to life in prison | Daily Mail Online

This guy was operating in my old neighbourhood. Disgusting.

But the worst of it was that the police issued no warnings to the gay community throughout his reign of terror. I can remember that shortly around the time I moved out of Toronto, there were handbills being posted around Toronto, asking anyone if they had seen these men, who were gay and had disappeared in the Gay Village (Church/Wellesley), and it warned gay men in the Village to be careful. All three, it turns out, were victims of this asshat.

The police should have been doing that. Warning gay men there was a predator on the loose.

The original killings were of either closeted men or homeless/drug addicts. The secrecy of the first group and the itinerant nature of the second makes pattern forming difficult. What nailed the guy is when he switched to a victim that people would know was missing.

Also the only reason they really knew that had a serial killer is they found out he documented it when they found him with the live one.

I really feel sorry for those poor people who owned the property where he hid the bodies in planters. Imagine finding out this horror had been going in their yard, and under their noses, by a trusted friend, in their shed, for years. I'm sure these people will be haunted by nightmares for the rest of their lives.

Canadian real estate law requires "disclosure" of untoward happenings on a property - like a murder or a suicide, so when this property is sold, the sellers will have to disclose that the property is the site of these dismemberments and burials. These people will be emotionally and financially destroyed and they have done asbolutely nothing wrong.

He also had a roommate, who may have interrupted one of his murders and saved the guy's life. Imagine how this guy feels, wondering how it was that this creep spared him. Imagine his nightmares for years to come.

Not all of his victims are dead.

Also, those who say that he got away with his crimes for so long because his victims weren't missed. That simply isn't true. I lived in downtown Toronto at the time of these killings. I saw the handbills about the missing men posted all over the downtown core, but most definitely throughout the Church/Wellesley gay village.

How alleged Toronto serial killer Bruce McArthur went unnoticed

The gay community and Toronto police have a long history of well placed mistrust and fear. Toronto had their own version of "Stonehouse" back in the 1960's, out of which the Gay Pride movement was born. Rolling queers in the park for fun and profit was openly tolerated in the 60's and 70's.

The gay community was issuing warnings that a predator was on the loose in 2013, when I moved out of Toronto. Every time a reporter asked Toronto police about this possibility, it was dismissed utterly. For three long years, while gays desperately tried to get a proper serial killer investigation going, police were just dismissing the community's concerns. This issue has deepened the rift between Toronto's gay community and the police.

This isn't the first time that Toronto police have denied a serial predator was on the loose. The Balcony Rapist also operated in the same neighbourhood, climbing in through balcony doors and attacking women while they slept. The police issued no warnings, basically staking out buildings he had hit, and using the unsuspecting women living in them as bait. When they arrested this guy and I saw his picture, I immediately recognized him as someone who I had seen in our Wellesley Street building and had reported to management because of his disturbing behaviour. One of his victims during this time sued Toronto police for failure to warn the public and won a 6-figure settlement.

Out of all missing men in the area/group, how many were victims of this guy?

The police can't go crying serial killer every time a group of people go missing, especially people on the margins of society, or those who's link to the crime are hidden from people that know them.

Please remember that there is always bias created from knowing information NOW and thinking it was availible THEN for those doing the investigation.

Remember all the body parts were found AFTER they arrested the guy, before that it was all cases of missing people with no forensic or other evidence of the people being dead.

This guy went through a lot of effort to hide his crimes, and only screwed up by selecting a victim that wasn't either closeted or part of the outskirts of society.

Every one of the men that were posted about in the community handbills warning of a serial killer, were killed by Bruce McArthur. All of these men had families who were searching for them. The families seemed to know their loved ones were gay, or bi-sexual. I've been trying to find one of these handbills online to post it here.

The handbill also warned that the community believed a serial killer was on the loose and the police were not taking the concern seriously. It warned all gay men to be careful of their interactions in the Village, and asked all non-gays to pass this information on to any gay men they knew who frequented the village.

Gay men who knew McArthur, were warning other gay men about him. The police really botched this from the get-go, and now they're trying to blame the community whose concerns they ignored for years, for not doing enough to assist the investigation.

But again, how many other men went missing during that time? Again you are basing your views on the period with knowledge we have now, not then.

 

[martybegan]

Can I add that Toronto is a city of neighbourhoods, each with its own unique character, and often, it's own ethnicity. Our police have a long sad history of ignoring neighbourhood concerns, patting us on the head, and telling us we don't know jack! It's not just the gay community that has issues with Toronto Police, and their lack of community awareness. They are very quick to blame communities for a "lack of cooperation", but fail to twig to the idea that when you ignore people why they TRY to talk to you, they tend to give up trying after a time.

But with the gay community the relationship is complicated by the history of bathhouse raids, arrests, and failures to protect members of the gay community from beatings, muggings. And now this!

Yes, and the way to get the police to be more agreeable is to blame them for not catching a serial killer who covered his tracks.

 

[DGS49]

Can I add that Toronto is a city of neighbourhoods, each with its own unique character, and often, it's own ethnicity. Our police have a long sad history of ignoring neighbourhood concerns, patting us on the head, and telling us we don't know jack! It's not just the gay community that has issues with Toronto Police, and their lack of community awareness. They are very quick to blame communities for a "lack of cooperation", but fail to twig to the idea that when you ignore people why they TRY to talk to you, they tend to give up trying after a time.

But with the gay community the relationship is complicated by the history of bathhouse raids, arrests, and failures to protect members of the gay community from beatings, muggings. And now this!

Dragonlady: Thanks for your thoughtful comments. You are a valuable contributor.

 

[Dragonlady]

This guy was operating in my old neighbourhood. Disgusting.

But the worst of it was that the police issued no warnings to the gay community throughout his reign of terror. I can remember that shortly around the time I moved out of Toronto, there were handbills being posted around Toronto, asking anyone if they had seen these men, who were gay and had disappeared in the Gay Village (Church/Wellesley), and it warned gay men in the Village to be careful. All three, it turns out, were victims of this asshat.

The police should have been doing that. Warning gay men there was a predator on the loose.

The original killings were of either closeted men or homeless/drug addicts. The secrecy of the first group and the itinerant nature of the second makes pattern forming difficult. What nailed the guy is when he switched to a victim that people would know was missing.

Also the only reason they really knew that had a serial killer is they found out he documented it when they found him with the live one.

I really feel sorry for those poor people who owned the property where he hid the bodies in planters. Imagine finding out this horror had been going in their yard, and under their noses, by a trusted friend, in their shed, for years. I'm sure these people will be haunted by nightmares for the rest of their lives.

Canadian real estate law requires "disclosure" of untoward happenings on a property - like a murder or a suicide, so when this property is sold, the sellers will have to disclose that the property is the site of these dismemberments and burials. These people will be emotionally and financially destroyed and they have done asbolutely nothing wrong.

He also had a roommate, who may have interrupted one of his murders and saved the guy's life. Imagine how this guy feels, wondering how it was that this creep spared him. Imagine his nightmares for years to come.

Not all of his victims are dead.

Also, those who say that he got away with his crimes for so long because his victims weren't missed. That simply isn't true. I lived in downtown Toronto at the time of these killings. I saw the handbills about the missing men posted all over the downtown core, but most definitely throughout the Church/Wellesley gay village.

How alleged Toronto serial killer Bruce McArthur went unnoticed

The gay community and Toronto police have a long history of well placed mistrust and fear. Toronto had their own version of "Stonehouse" back in the 1960's, out of which the Gay Pride movement was born. Rolling queers in the park for fun and profit was openly tolerated in the 60's and 70's.

The gay community was issuing warnings that a predator was on the loose in 2013, when I moved out of Toronto. Every time a reporter asked Toronto police about this possibility, it was dismissed utterly. For three long years, while gays desperately tried to get a proper serial killer investigation going, police were just dismissing the community's concerns. This issue has deepened the rift between Toronto's gay community and the police.

This isn't the first time that Toronto police have denied a serial predator was on the loose. The Balcony Rapist also operated in the same neighbourhood, climbing in through balcony doors and attacking women while they slept. The police issued no warnings, basically staking out buildings he had hit, and using the unsuspecting women living in them as bait. When they arrested this guy and I saw his picture, I immediately recognized him as someone who I had seen in our Wellesley Street building and had reported to management because of his disturbing behaviour. One of his victims during this time sued Toronto police for failure to warn the public and won a 6-figure settlement.

Out of all missing men in the area/group, how many were victims of this guy?

The police can't go crying serial killer every time a group of people go missing, especially people on the margins of society, or those who's link to the crime are hidden from people that know them.

Please remember that there is always bias created from knowing information NOW and thinking it was availible THEN for those doing the investigation.

Remember all the body parts were found AFTER they arrested the guy, before that it was all cases of missing people with no forensic or other evidence of the people being dead.

This guy went through a lot of effort to hide his crimes, and only screwed up by selecting a victim that wasn't either closeted or part of the outskirts of society.

Every one of the men that were posted about in the community handbills warning of a serial killer, were killed by Bruce McArthur. All of these men had families who were searching for them. The families seemed to know their loved ones were gay, or bi-sexual. I've been trying to find one of these handbills online to post it here.

The handbill also warned that the community believed a serial killer was on the loose and the police were not taking the concern seriously. It warned all gay men to be careful of their interactions in the Village, and asked all non-gays to pass this information on to any gay men they knew who frequented the village.

Gay men who knew McArthur, were warning other gay men about him. The police really botched this from the get-go, and now they're trying to blame the community whose concerns they ignored for years, for not doing enough to assist the investigation.

But again, how many other men went missing during that time? Again you are basing your views on the period with knowledge we have now, not then.

I am basing my views on being a person who lived in Toronto until 2013, by which time the gay community had been become openly fearful a serial killer was at work. My chiropractor's office was in a old redstone house on Church Street, just below Wellesley. I was there every week. This was the the killer's hunting ground, during a time that the community was becoming frightened that a serial predator was preying on gay men in the Village, while police continued to tell them that wasn't true and they shouldn't needlessly alarm the community with these dire warnings.

When I left Toronto, members of the gay community were being called "alarmist" for posting their warnings all over town. Even living outside of Toronto, we were hearing about continuing disappearances in the gay village. Victims seemed to be men who weren't fully "out", or whose cultures were less accepting of gays but clearly the entire community was being terrorized, while the police stood by and denied there was a serial killer, even as they were searching this guy's apartment.

 

[Dragonlady]

Can I add that Toronto is a city of neighbourhoods, each with its own unique character, and often, it's own ethnicity. Our police have a long sad history of ignoring neighbourhood concerns, patting us on the head, and telling us we don't know jack! It's not just the gay community that has issues with Toronto Police, and their lack of community awareness. They are very quick to blame communities for a "lack of cooperation", but fail to twig to the idea that when you ignore people why they TRY to talk to you, they tend to give up trying after a time.

But with the gay community the relationship is complicated by the history of bathhouse raids, arrests, and failures to protect members of the gay community from beatings, muggings. And now this!

Yes, and the way to get the police to be more agreeable is to blame them for not catching a serial killer who covered his tracks.

They're not blaming the police for not catching the serial killer, they're blaming the police for not warning the community there was a predator on the loose. This isn't the first time this has happened, and in the same neighbourhood

Jane Doe v. Metropolitan Toronto Commissioners of Police

 

[martybegan]

Can I add that Toronto is a city of neighbourhoods, each with its own unique character, and often, it's own ethnicity. Our police have a long sad history of ignoring neighbourhood concerns, patting us on the head, and telling us we don't know jack! It's not just the gay community that has issues with Toronto Police, and their lack of community awareness. They are very quick to blame communities for a "lack of cooperation", but fail to twig to the idea that when you ignore people why they TRY to talk to you, they tend to give up trying after a time.

But with the gay community the relationship is complicated by the history of bathhouse raids, arrests, and failures to protect members of the gay community from beatings, muggings. And now this!

Yes, and the way to get the police to be more agreeable is to blame them for not catching a serial killer who covered his tracks.

They're not blaming the police for not catching the serial killer, they're blaming the police for not warning the community there was a predator on the loose. This isn't the first time this has happened, and in the same neighbourhood

Jane Doe v. Metropolitan Toronto Commissioners of Police

Why would a police warning help anything more if the community was already spreading the word?

 

[Dragonlady]

Can I add that Toronto is a city of neighbourhoods, each with its own unique character, and often, it's own ethnicity. Our police have a long sad history of ignoring neighbourhood concerns, patting us on the head, and telling us we don't know jack! It's not just the gay community that has issues with Toronto Police, and their lack of community awareness. They are very quick to blame communities for a "lack of cooperation", but fail to twig to the idea that when you ignore people why they TRY to talk to you, they tend to give up trying after a time.

But with the gay community the relationship is complicated by the history of bathhouse raids, arrests, and failures to protect members of the gay community from beatings, muggings. And now this!

Yes, and the way to get the police to be more agreeable is to blame them for not catching a serial killer who covered his tracks.

They're not blaming the police for not catching the serial killer, they're blaming the police for not warning the community there was a predator on the loose. This isn't the first time this has happened, and in the same neighbourhood

Jane Doe v. Metropolitan Toronto Commissioners of Police

Why would a police warning help anything more if the community was already spreading the word?

It would bring more resources to the investigation. Profilers, and others would have been brought in from outside the local police. Yes the community got the word out, but hey, but it's Act Up! We're here, we're queer, get used to it! Many didn't take them seriously, and the communities outside the gay community didn't take them seriously. Added to which the police were calling them "unhelpful" and saying they were needlessly frightening people.

Everyone reaches their destination faster when we're all rowing in the same direction.