Deputy York police chief takes top OPP job
Thomas Carrique has ‘no relationship’ with Fords but Horwath pushes for inquiry
Less than a week after Premier Doug Ford’s friend bowed out amid controversy over the selection of Ontario’s next top cop, the provincial government on Monday announced the new commissioner of the Ontario Provincial Police.
Taking the reins of the sprawling force is Thomas Carrique, a lesser-known but broadly respected York Regional Police deputy chief.
The veteran cop’s career took a dramatic shift last week when he was approached for the job — days after Toronto police Supt. Ron Taverner withdrew his interest after months of turmoil over his appointment to the job late last year.
“I can tell you that no one is more surprised that I am standing before you today with this announcement,” said an emotional Carrique at a news conference Monday at York Regional Police headquarters in Aurora.
Carrique, hailed as an experienced leader who will bring an outside perspective, stressed during the press conference that he has never met the pre- mier and is only a professional acquaintance of Mario Di Tommaso, the deputy minister of community safety who approached him about the job last week.
“I have no relationship whatsoever with the premier or the Ford family,” he said. “I have not met the premier.”
The appointment will bring partial closure to the question of OPP leadership after months of controversy.
OPP continued on A8
The controversy began with the Nov. 29 announcement that Taverner, a longtime Toronto superintendent and close family friend of the Fords, would be named commissioner.
Questions around the hiring process and accusations of bias prompted a sudden halt to Taverner’s swearing-in, an integrity commissioner investigation and a court application to force Ontario’s ombudsman to review the appointment by the now-fired deputy OPP commissioner.
“I think we’re in unprecedented times, and I think the last three months in particular has been really challenging as an organization,” said Ontario Provincial Police Association (OPPA) president Rob Jamieson . “I think people were looking for clarity, and I think they were looking for certainty and I think they were looking for leadership.”
But the appointment must not mark the end of ongoing examinations into the Taverner hiring, said NDP Leader Andrea Horwath, who called for a “public inquiry into Ford’s meddling in the police force.” That should also include, Horwath said, the recent firing of former OPP deputy commissioner Brad Blair, who has called his dismissal a reprisal for his court bid to block Taverner’s appointment.
Horwath also called for a full public report on Carrique’s hiring “in light of Doug Ford’s record on this file.”
Concerns about the hiring were also shared by the Ontario Liberals and Green party, which both suggested the hiring process may have been cut overly short.
“Obviously, the process has been short-shrifted but never- theless, I think we should appreciate that the new OPP commissioner has the minimum requirements and credentials, having been a deputy chief somewhere before getting to be a commissioner,” said Liberal MPP Nathalie Des Rosiers. A former University of Ottawa law dean, she was referring to changes to the job posting made during the original round of hiring that allowed Taverner, a superintendent, to be considered. Green Party Leader Mike Schreiner called on the government to fully disclose the details of the new hiring process “and to publicly release the integrity commissioner’s report into the original appointment of Supt. Taverner once the investigation is complete.”
The province “moved decisively” to find Carrique, said Sylvia Jones, Ontario’s minister of community safety and correctional services. The decision was made by cabinet, said Jones, who did not divulge any other candidates who were in the running last week.
Jones said she’s keen on “moving forward” with a veteran officer who brings an outside perspective to the OPP.
Speaking Monday, Carrique — well-regarded by rank-and-file as an experienced and intelligent officer — became emotional when speaking about his lifelong service with York police. The York force “has been my home, my passion and my family for 29 years,” he said.
“I have learned a great deal from some of the top police leaders” in the region, he said.
During his career with the York police, Carrique worked in uniform patrol, criminal inves- tigations, investigative services, traffic, marine, public order and the administration and operations branches.
Former York Regional Police chief Armand La Barge was impressed with what he saw there. Carrique is academically minded, La Barge said, writing a masters thesis on gender diversity in policing for Royal Roads University.
Carrique has also made First Nations policing a priority, according to La Barge — helpful experience in his new role. The OPP came under heavy attack after unarmed First Nations activist Anthony (Dudley) George was shot to death by a police sniper in 1995 at Ipperwash Provincial Park. Another First Nations man was clubbed unconscious by police in a land claims protest.
The resulting Ipperwash In- quiry Report made more than 100 recommendations, which called for the province and First Nations communities to work together to improve First Nations policing and protect burial and heritage sites. Carrique praised the Ipperwash Inquiry report into police-First Nations relations as a “beacon” to guide policing.
Carrique takes the helm of one of North America’s largest police services, with more than 5,800 uniformed officers, 2,400 civilians and 830 auxiliary officers. He said his priorities will include combating guns and gangs, illegal drugs, traffic safety and “to ensure we are doing everything in our power to rescue the victims of human trafficking and bring to justice” those who exploit them.
He will inherit some pressing internal issues, including complaints about the OPP’s handling of officers’ mental health challenges. This year, Ontario’s chief coroner launched an expert panel to review the suicides of nine police officers in 2018, three of whom were OPP officers.
Those three deaths — which occurred in the span of three weeks — prompted an OPP internal review to examine why some officers may not be coming forward to seek mental health supports.
Jamieson, OPPA president, spoke to Carrique for the first time Monday and during that phone call they specifically discussed the mental health issue.
“We talked about supporting members and mental health, and how critical that issue is,” Jamieson said. “It’s a major concern that we both share.”
Carrique has been appointed to a three-year term starting April 8.
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