Clinton Gayle has been denied parole for the fourth time, while serving a life sentence for the first-degree murder of Toronto police Const. Todd Baylis and the attempted murder of Baylis’ partner, Const. Mike Leone.
The two-person panel told Gayle that despite the fact his most recent psychological assessment has deemed him a low-risk to re-offend and there have been no concerns while he’s been out an escorted temporary absences (ETA), they concluded Gayle lacks insight into why he committed the crime.
After a nearly six-hour hearing at Mission Institution, a minimum-security prison in British Columbia where Gayle has been incarcerated for the last four years, the parole board delivered its decision.
Board member Ian Mackenzie, a former Abbotsford police chief, explained why the two-member panel took more than half an hour.
“We are still struggling to get an understanding what was going through your mind when you shot and killed Const. Baylis and tried to shoot and kill Const. Leone,” said Mackenzie, who told Gayle he is a retired police officer himself.
Baylis, 25, was killed on June 16, 1994 while he and his partner, Const. Mike Leone, were doing a walk about at an apartment building on Trethewey Drive.
Leone told the board in his victim impact statement “but for Gayle’s gun jamming, he would have murdered me just as he executed my partner, Todd Baylis.”
Baylis’ firearm was strapped in his holster, but after Gayle’s gun jammed, Leone said he was able to remove his firearm “in order to save my life.”
“Unbeknownst to us, but very well known to Mr. Gayle, was the fact he was under a deportation order that he was avoiding,” said Leone.
“You’ve been in front of the board a few times and your explanation and accounts have changed even today. We are putting significant weight on what were you thinking when you shot them. Were you trying to escape and do anything to escape or were you trying to defend yourself?” said Mackenzie.
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“It’s important when trying to understand risk assessment. We fully accept you have strong family support. You have place to live. You remain connected to your culture,” said Mackenzie. “We’ve also considered your Black social history is relevant but going back to the concerns, we are still struggling to understand what your motivation was, when you did what you did.
“We accept you at your word that you knew what you did was wrong but as a board, assessing your risk to reoffend, we have to know you understand your motivation to commit that crime. We’re not convinced you have sufficient insight into why you used such extreme violence that you used.”
Mackenzie said that if the plan were for Gayle to go to a halfway house, that might be a manageable because he would have a parole officer assigned to his case, but his release plan doesn’t include that.
Gayle told the board that on the day of the fatal shooting, he was dealing drugs in the lobby of the building when he saw the two uniformed officers. At trial, he testified that he was acting in self-defence.
Gayle explained at the time he was preoccupied with selling drugs and making money and was not thinking right.
“When I was coming up on the stairwell, I could see the two officers. I started to backtrack to the underground garage. I opened the door. They both rushed me,” said Gayle, who is now 58, but couldn’t explain how the shooting played out.
Gayle apologized, maintaining he had no intent to kill. “It was not my intention but nonetheless it has happened. As my counselor said, we cannot undo what I’ve done but I have started a long time ago, to take the steps to make sure I’m a better person. I sincerely and deeply apologize for the pain, the sorry, the loss. Not just for the family but the police force.”
Earlier, Gayle told the board his plan, if released. “Me, going back to Jamaica, if I were to get parole and get deported, I have a place ready for me. A place to reside, a supportive environment.”
Cory Baylis, Todd’s brother, said in his more than hour-long victim impact statement that the Baylis family never wants his released. “The question is when Gayle reoffends, not if he will reoffend. Does another Canadian family have to be left devastated?”
Tim Danson, who represents the Baylis family, has written a letter to the prime minister on behalf of the family and the Toronto Police Association (TPA). Danson is asking for reforms.
The Baylis family, Leone and the TPA are upset they weren’t notified about the parole hearing until earlier this month, and when they asked to have it adjourned by a month to prepare, they were told they had to ask Gayle, who declined.
“To be forced to ask for a favour from the person who executed Todd and tried to murder me was profoundly humiliating, degrading, insulting and an affront to our dignity,” Leone said in his victim impact statement.
Gayle explained to the board that when he was asked about adjourning the hearing, he needed to contact his lawyer to see if she could delay the hearing. “I didn’t know what her plans were,” said Gayle, who explained it was easier for the hearing to go ahead on the date it was scheduled.
The Toronto Police Association said in a statement that the PBC made the “right decision” to keep Gayle in custody.
The TPA said while it is encouraged by this decision, the work to reform the Parole Board of Canada is far from over.
“Today’s decision to keep a murderer behind bars offers a measure of hope that Canadians can have confidence in our justice system. Nevertheless, important gaps remain, and we are committed to advancing the reforms necessary to address them,” said TPA president Clayton Campbell.
