Knecht describes ‘caustic’ relationship with bosses
EDMONTON Edmonton police Chief Rod Knecht says he still isn’t sure why the police commission decided not to extend his contract over a difference of three months.
“I don’t think I did have full clarity (about the decision), and I asked for clarity,” Knecht said Tuesday in a wide-ranging interview with reporters — his first public comments since he announced he would be leaving at the end of his current contract in October 2018.
Knecht, chief since 2011, described a relationship with the commission that had become strained and “caustic” starting in 2017.
“There was, I would say, more than tension,” he said. “I think, at some times, the relationship was caustic, and that was troublesome.”
Knecht said at one point, he and other police leaders spoke to the commission about “rectifying the trust issue.” He acknowledged it’s the commission’s job to provide police oversight and accountability, but said disagreements weren’t simple differences of opinion.
Knecht also said the commission at times involved itself in police operations.
“That’s the sole responsibility of the police chief,” he said.
Knecht said the relationship has improved since 2017.
Ward 6 Coun. Scott McKeen, a police commissioner, said he was surprised by the chief ’s assessment.
“The commission asks a lot of questions,” he said. “I think that sometimes rubs a paramilitary organization a little bit, but … I never saw in those meetings a time the chief or the deputies were clearly upset with the questions.”
Commission chair Tim O’Brien could not immediately be reached for comment.
According to Knecht, the commissioners said in 2017 they were interested in selecting a new chief and wanted Knecht to announce his existing contract would be his last. Knecht, 61, felt that was “premature” and said he was confused why they needed 14 months to pick a new chief.
This year, there was a “big shift” on the police commission, Knecht said. It was without an executive director, and four new commissioners had just joined. Knecht said he approached the commission about staying on a short time longer so he could finish several projects and help transition to a new chief.
In March, Knecht had a breakfast meeting with the commission’s chair and vice-chair, and by the end of that week offered June 30, 2019, as an end date.
As far as Knecht knew, the date was acceptable to the commission. But after the commissioners met in private, a representative came back with a contract that would end March 30, 2019.
“It did take me by surprise,” he said. When it became clear the commission were “fixated” on the quicker end date, he decided to “bow out,” adding his elderly father has been in the hospital for eight weeks.
Knecht said he felt no “sour grapes” about the decision.
He said he sent a letter to the commission a month ago asking to sit down and discuss why it had changed its mind.
“I’m fine with whatever the decision is — at the end of the day, it is their decision, they ’re my boss,” he said. “But I would have appreciated a little more clarity.
“The police commission is supposed to be open and transparent … I felt like I was in a little bit of purgatory there for a while.”
McKeen said the commission understood the chief was fine leaving at the end of his current term and had planned a search for a new chief.
When Knecht brought up a contract extension, they agreed, “but on … the commission’s terms. And that apparently has upset the chief.”
Added McKeen: “I’m a little surprised, because I think the commission holds the chief in very high esteem and I’m really surprised and a bit upset to hear him use a term like ‘caustic.’”