Mayor, police leaders vow to keep 'bickering' out of public eye

Four menwho have major roles overseeingthe smoothoperation of Ottawa's police force met Thursday morningin an attempt to work out their grievances and as one of them put it keep their "bickering" out of the public eye.

Mayor Jim Watson called the meeting with Ottawa Police ServiceChief Charles Bordeleau, Ottawa Police Association president Matt Skof, and Coun. Eli El-Chantry, the chair of the Police Services Board in an attempt to open up dialogueand keep their disagreements to themselves.

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"It's a meeting so we can go back and start positive dialogue, working together as a team ... instead of bickering through the media," said El-Chantiry after the meeting.

The meeting comes on the same day that Postmediapublished a column by Skof that highlighted some of the issues he thinks need to be addressed within the police service, includingdeclining morale amongst officers and a dissatisfaction with its leadership.

'Best interest' to meet more

In addition to Skof's comments about the force's leadership which came afterBordeleau was clearedin a conflict of interest case related to the handling of a family member's traffic ticket he has also called on El-Chantiry to step down as head of the police board.

After today's meeting, however, all four men agreed to meet regularlyandkeep those sorts of discussions behind closed doors.

"Out of fairness to our men and women in uniform and to the taxpayers of Ottawa, it's in our collective best interest ...to open up dialogue on a muchmorefrequent basisso that we can actually better understand the legitimate concerns the chief has, the officers have and members of the public [have]," said Watson.

Watson was tight-lipped about what exactly was discussed atthe meeting, but he said he's committed to working on "long-standing grievances" that have plaguedthe police service.

"Obviously there are some long-standinggrievancesthat have been bubbling at the surface forsome time. And it's our job,as leaderswithinthecommunity,to do what we cantominimize those," Watson said.

Not a 'love-in'

"[There will]be some issueswe'llnever agree on, and we'll have to accept that. But there are others ... I think we canaddress properly."

While the discussion was frank and positive, it also "wasn't a love-in," Watson added.

Skof agreed with the mayor's assessment, calling it the meeting "a very difficult conversation."

"There are issues that are outstanding," Skof said. "We're hopeful in the next coming weeks that we're going to see some actions."

Bordeleaualso described the meeting ascandid and productive.

"From my perspective, this is about our members. This is about our community. And this is about trust and confidence," the police chief said.

"Our members have a very difficult job, and it's been compounded by some of the very public discussions that have been taking place within the media. We all agree that these conversations have no place in the public forum."