John Wesley Ackroyd (1925 – September 29, 1992) was a prominent Canadian Chief of Police and high level Ontario civil servant.
[4] Though later, during his term as the chief, the biggest mass civilian arrest since the Second World War occurred in Toronto's Gay district.
[9] So, over the course of a few months, Ackroyd – following the political directives issued by city council and the provincial government – ordered his officers to step up their patrols on this commercial strip and forced the closure of many shops and arrested prostitutes and their clients.
[14]A few days later on February 5, 1981, under his reign as police chief, one of Canada's largest civilian round-ups occurred in the city's gay ghetto.
"[15] 286 people were arrested,[15] and Ackroyd defended it by the fact that there were several criminal code violations and that he "...as Chief, have no other course of action but to go along with the direction of the Crown Attorney.
[19] At the age of 58, Jack Ackroyd made a career change: he became an Ontario Civil Servant, by accepting the position of vice-chairman of the LCBO.
[6] In an effort to bring more modern in-store marketing techniques, he authorized store managers to mount discreet product displays.
He died in the early morning hours of September 30, 1992 at Toronto General Hospital from long-term complications due to the blood disorder.
[21] An official tribute, on the floor of the Ontario Legislature, by Bob Runciman, the MPP for Leeds—Grenville, stated that "Jack Ackroyd set an example that continues to be the goal of Metro's men and women in blue.