Retired judge Cacchione named head of SIRT
A former Nova Scotia Supreme Court judge has been appointed director of the Serious Incident Response Team, the province’s police watchdog agency.
Felix Cacchione retired from the bench last week after 32 years as a judge.
His appointment is effective March 12, the Justice Department said in a news release Wednesday.
Cacchione will take over from interim director John Scott, who was appointed to replace SIRT’s first director, Ron MacDonald, last October.
MacDonald had held the position since SIRT was formed in 2012. He left to become director of British Columbia’s Independent Investigations Office.
Cacchione studied law at Dalhousie University and has been a member of the Nova Scotia Barristers’ Society since 1975. He practised criminal law before he was appointed a Nova Scotia county court judge in 1986 and a Supreme Court judge in 1993.
He taught criminal law at Dalhousie and Saint Mary’s University and provided criminal jury trial seminars and criminal law trial simulations at the National Judicial Institute. He also volunteered to teach aspiring and practising lawyers and judges.
“Mr. Cacchione is highly respected and brings over 40 years of knowledge, experience and skill to the position,” Justice Minister Mark Furey said in the news release.
“Nova Scotians are fortunate to have his calibre of expertise in the role. Under Mr. Cacchione’s direction, SIRT will continue to perform investigations to the highest quality.”
The agency investigates deaths, serious injuries, sexual assaults, domestic violence and other matters of public interest involving police officers.
Cacchione will oversee a team of four investigators, including two civilians with prior policing experience and two police officers.
“I am grateful for this opportunity to continue to serve the people of Nova Scotia,” Cacchione said.
“I look forward to working with the SIRT team and I am hopeful that my training and experience will be an asset to SIRT. This is important work and I look forward to this new challenge.”