Ottawa police Chief Charles Bordeleau announces retirement

Ottawa police Chief Charles Bordeleau has officially announced his upcoming retirement.

In an emailsentSunday night to all sworn and civilian Ottawa Police Service members, Bordeleau wrotehis term will endMay 4, coinciding with his 35th anniversary in policing.

In early 2016, his contract wasextended by the Ottawa Police Services Board untilMay.

"For the past sevenyears, I've had the distinct privilege and honour to lead the best police service in Canada which is made up of 2,000 sworn and civilian professionals and volunteers," he wrote.

"The nation's capital is blessed to have women and men of such a high caliber who are committed and passionate about keeping Ottawa safe."

Leading up to May 4, Bordeleausaidhe'll continue working to support officers, present a budget, submit a three-year business plan and ensure a smooth transition.

Ottawa's chief of police to retire in May

6 years ago

Duration 1:13

Ottawa Police Chief Charles Bordeleau says he'll step down as chief upon his retirement in May. Bordeleau's police career began in 1984.

Promoted to chief in 2012

Born and raised in Ottawa, and fluently bilingual, Bordeleau's policing career began in 1984 with the pre-amalgamation GloucesterPolice Service.

He was nameddeputy chief of the Ottawa Police Service in August2010, and prior to thatserved assuperintendent of emergency operations.

Bordeleau was promoted to chief in March 2012, replacing now-Senator Vern White.

His priorities as chief included road safety, violence against women and trying to combat increasing gun and gang-relatedviolence. Shootings have steadily increased in Ottawa, with six of the past eight years bringing record highs.

Fractured relationship withunion

Bordeleau's tenure was not without controversy.

He had a difficultrelationship with the Ottawa Police Association's now-suspended president, Matt Skof, over eroding morale among rank-and-file officers, staffing and accountability concerns.

It came to a head in 2016, when Bordeleau was being investigated bythe Ontario Civilian Police Commission for allegedly getting involved witha careless driving ticket that had been issued to his father-in-law.

AfterBordeleauwas cleared of misconduct, Skofpublicly called on Mayor Jim Watson to deal with what he called alack of accountability on Bordeleau's part, as well as eroding morale insidethe force.

Watson eventuallystepped into the fray to publicly defendBordeleau,saying Skof's criticismscould undermine public confidence in the police force.

Accused of 'double standard'

The following year, the relationship between the police union andBordeleaucontinued to sour.

Skofannouncedhe was cutting ties with the police executive over what he calleda "double standard" in the treatment of three senior officers facing allegations of fraud, evidence manipulation and obstruction of justice.

Bordeleau called for an outside police force to investigate, but didn't suspend the officers or restrict their responsibilities.

In response, Skofdirected his staff to stop participating in joint ceremonial events and committees that weren't mandatory, and hinted that other officers could follow suit.

Uniforms at Pride

Also in 2017, Bordeleau came under fire forpledging to don his full uniform at that year's Pride parade in spite of Capital Pride'srequest that policeleave their uniforms at home to makepeople of colourfeel safe.

"We absolutely agree there's been incredible, tremendous gains made in the relationship between our police forces and the LGBTQ community.... What we're saying is that more work needs to be done ... so that it extends to our persons of colour in the community,"Capital Pride board chair Tammy Dopson said at the time.

Bordeleauthenbacktracked, saying he'd wear a police golf shirt instead. "For many members of our service the request to exclude our uniforms felt like a rejection of that part of our identity and our own journey towards inclusion," he explained at the time.

Hesaid he hoped the decision showed "our commitment to continue listening and building trust with the diverse communities we serve."

The greatest challenge for whoever takes his place as chief will be to build community confidence while supporting members of the force, Bordeleau said at a meeting of the Police Services Board Monday night.

The board has alreadystarted to discuss how it will go about looking for a new chief.