'He was Superman': Colleagues remember fallen York Regional Police officer Travis Gillespie

Gillespie was going through process to join YRP Emergency Response Unit

Yorkregion.com
Sept. 15, 2022
Jeremy Grimaldi

Bill Grodzinski never had children, but if he ever did, he’d want them to be like Travis Gillespie.

“He was an incredible human being," Grodzinski said. "He was Superman."

Gillespie, 38, a York Regional Police constable who served Richmond Hill during his two years on the force, died Sept. 14 following a collision with another vehicle.

Gillespie was off-duty and travelling to work in the lead up to 6 a.m. on Major Mackenzie Drive when his Honda Accord was involved in a head-on collision with a Porsche Cayenne being driven by a 23-year-old man, police said.

A police source said the Markham man, who was taken to hospital with unidentified injuries, is being investigated for impaired driving.

In unconfirmed media reports, the Porsche is alleged to have crossed the centre line near Warden Avenue in Markham. According to a police statement, Gillespie was pronounced dead at the scene.

Peel Regional Police’s Major Collisions Unit took over investigation of the scene so as not to further traumatize Gillespie’s fellow YRP officers, the force said.

A police source told YorkRegion.com the scene was "terrible".

Grodzinski, a former chief superintendent at the OPP, knew Gillespie from his days as a chief special constable with Metrolinx, during which time Gillespie worked as a special constable with GO Transit.

"He wasn’t just a work colleague; he was someone I considered a friend," Grodzinski said. "If I had a son, I would want a son like that. He had a warmth about him, humanity, and a million megawatt smile. He was a man any parent would be proud of. I am in a state of disbelief."

Grodzinski said Gillespie was the type of person who was never in a bad mood -- in fact, the only instance when he saw him down was the day he was turned down for a job by a police force.

"When he got into YRP, he was smiling from ear to ear," Grodzinski added. "He had his whole life ahead of him. There’s so many elements to this tragedy."

A York police source said that while she didn’t know Gillespie personally, those who did knew him as a "jokester who was very well liked".

"I think it’s almost numb," she said, when asked to describe the feeling of losing another colleague, mere days after Toronto Police Service Const. Andrew Hong was shot to death while on lunch. "It’s just shock. Everyone is still in shock from the other day. It’s almost like I’m unable to process it yet.”

Prior to his passing, Gillespie had been going through the process to become a member of the service’s Emergency Response Unit, known in other forces as the SWAT team, she added.

"The ERU process is highly selective ... physically and emotionally gruelling," she added.

As for the allegation that the driver of the Porsche was impaired, the police source explained it’s quite normal to arrest more than one allegedly impaired driver each shift, often at early hours of the morning, such as 6 a.m.

"We’re getting sick of it," she added. "Every shift, there’s multiple (drunk drivers). It's information you kind of wish you didn't have. If people don’t think there's drunks out there, they're surrounded by them, all the time."

Gillespie is survived by his parents and loved ones.

In unconfirmed media reports, Gillespie and his girlfriend, with whom he just purchased a new home, were said to be expecting a baby.

Gillespie volunteered his time to Community Living and Primal MMA Academy, police added.

"This is devastating news for all members of our organization," Chief Jim MacSween said. "I offer my deepest condolences to Travis’ family, friends and colleagues. It’s never easy to lose a member and to have lost Travis so unexpectedly is very difficult."

Anyone with information is asked to call 1-866-876-5423, ext. 7704 to reach a Peel Police investigator or call Crime Stoppers anonymously at 1-800-222-TIPS, or leave an anonymous tip online at www.1800222tips.com.