Abbotsford police chief moves on
Heading into retirement, Rich’s focus on teamwork a key part of legacy with force
Bob Rich has faced darkness — a gang war, the stabbing of two students at a high school, an officer killed in the line of duty.
In response, he’s wielded a spotlight.
After 10 years as chief of the Abbotsford Police Department, Rich retired Monday, ending a career characterized by his willingness to bring difficult issues to light — and meet challenges head-on.
Arriving in Abbotsford in 2008, at the height of the gang war between the UN Gang and the Red Scorpions, Rich articulated a clear goal for the police department: Make Abbotsford a safe place. He set to work immediately.
In a recent interview with Postmedia, the retired chief called his leadership style “flailing.”
“If it’s innovative, if it’s outside-the-box, I’m going to try it,” he said. “If it doesn’t work, I move on. If it sticks, I go with it.”
A conversation with a citizen resulted in one of his more inspired ideas. Officers in a marked police car began to park outside Red Scorpions member Jamie Bacon’s home. The car would follow him as he went about his business.
“It really cramped what he was trying to do,” said Rich, recalling a time when Bacon was forced to host a birthday party on his back porch, rather than at a public venue. “We really tried to make Abbotsford an unwelcoming place for criminals.”
That philosophy led to another unique tactic: Sending an annual Christmas card to known criminals. “Which list will you be on next year?” asked the first card, which featured a photo of Rich, dressed as Santa, armed with an assault rifle.
The department began to speak publicly about the gang problem, abandoning the argument that identifying gang members fed their desire for notoriety.
“I get that approach,” said Rich. “I chose the opposite. We needed community help. We needed car rental agencies to stop renting to these guys. We needed gyms to stop giving them memberships. We needed the community to turn against them.”
Many of the gang leaders left Abbotsford. Some were eventually arrested, while others died in the violent gang conflict.
Rich is proud of the progress the department has made fighting crime. “I love working on a team, and the team in Abbotsford is amazing,” he said.
But in 2015, the team began to fall apart. Two officers committed suicide and another 11 were off work with PTSD.
“I don’t want people to think I always knew what I was doing ... People chose to stick with me when I was questioning my ability to lead.”
He made changes to connect officers with psychologists after traumatic events. Mental health became a priority.
A few months later, his was tested when a man entered Abbotsford Senior Secondary and stabbed two students, killing one.
“Sixty-five police officers responded that day, and all of us were horrified by what happened,” he said. “But we were able to talk openly about what happened.”
When Const. John Davidson was killed in the line of duty in 2017, Rich faced the darkness again.
As the event was still unfolding, he received a call from Vancouver Police Chief Adam Palmer.
“’I’m sending help.’ Tell me what you need,” Rich said, recalling the conversation. “Some 100 police officers started out from Vancouver.” A senior RCMP officer from Langley was on scene almost immediately.
That night, Abbotsford was policed by officers from across the Lower Mainland. It was the same story on the day of Davidson’s funeral.
Rich memorably told his officers, as well as the thousands of first responders in attendance at the service, to “take a knee” and seek help after traumatic events. The healing has continued.
Rich has been preparing for his retirement for the last three years. He said he’s confident in new APD Chief Mike Serr, calling him “operationally brilliant,” as well as a person who has walked through some of life’s worst challenges, including the loss of a son, with grace.
“My advice to him is simply ‘Be who you are.’”