Police chief puts off retirement 17 months
Windsor Police Chief Al Frederick has been persuaded to stick around another 17 months, forestalling a Jan. 30 retirement.
Mayor Drew Dilkens and members of the city’s police services board announced the extension Thursday, explaining they wanted the continuity of Frederick’s leadership as Amherstburg weighs the merits of Windsor’s bid to take over the town’s policing, and implement that takeover if it’s approved.
Frederick was instrumental in submitting the original detailed proposal to Amherstburg, and if Windsor is ultimately chosen, it would happen no earlier than Jan. 1, 2019.
So the board reached out last week to Frederick, asking him to continue until June, 2019.
He ultimately said ‘Yes,’ after talking it over with his wife Simone.
The two had been making retirement plans and Frederick was considering another opportunity.
“Even though this is a curveball ... I understand where the board is coming from and I understand the importance of continuity and I take this as a new challenge,” Frederick, 56, told reporters via a conference call from Calgary, where he’s vacationing with family.
The fact the chief is staying is contrasted by the impending departure of two deputy chiefs.
Deputy Chief Vince Power had previously announced he will retire some time in 2018, and Dilkens announced Thursday that the board has decided to not renew Deputy Chief Rick Derus’s contract, which expires at the end of this month.
Those departures will necessitate the immediate recruitment of two new deputy chiefs. Dilkens said it will be an internal search, because the police department has ample “bench strength” to fill the jobs.
The chief said the process of replacing the Amherstburg Police Service with a contracted Windsor Police operation — laid out in a 100-plus-page document — would be a challenge.
“A lot has to do with technology, a lot has to do with personnel and a lot has to do with providing a service that Amherstburg provided very well and improve upon it in a more efficient manner,” Frederick said.
“That’s the challenge and we are confident we can do just that, an enhanced level of services to Amherstburg for a lesser cost.”
Jason DeJong, president of the Windsor Police Association, said his members were surprised by Thursday’s announcements — the chief’s extension and the non-renewal of Derus’s contract.
“We’re shocked by the outcome of the decision and I think this is an opportunity for the chief to take stock of what he’s done well and what he hasn’t done well and he can move forward for the duration of the contract with that in mind,” DeJong said, adding that the police union enjoyed working with Derus and valued his contribution to the police service.
Derus was brought into the Windsor Police Service from the OPP as part of a new trio at the top — led by Chief Frederick — in 2012 to restore public trust in the scandal-plagued department.
It is unknown whether Derus was applying for the chief’s job. Dilkens wouldn’t identify who had applied and Derus could not be reached Thursday.
“I don’t want anyone to leave here with the impression that Deputy Chief Derus is not being renewed as a result of professionalism, performance or anything like that,” said the mayor.
“He’s been an excellent employee of the Windsor Police Service and I will say very positive things quite sincerely about his performance and his effort over the last five years.”
Dilkens said the board is sorry it can’t renew Derus’s contract. “But in the interest of bringing forward two new deputy leaders of the services, we think this is the best course of action.”
The plan is to immediately start the recruitment of internal candidates, so the new deputy chiefs can learn while Power is still around and Frederick is at the helm.
Frederick, who started as a Windsor police officer more than 33 years ago, will continue with the same pay, which in 2016 amounted to $214,496 annually.
He told reporters he is looking forward to the coming 17 months, and seeing through some “dynamic” policing issues still on the table. These include the looming legalization of marijuana, the worsening opioid crisis and the potential pitfalls officers foresee injecting drug users with the anti-overdose medication naloxone.
“Policing is a profession of ups and downs and curveballs, and whether you’re going to court on your days off or having to cancel vacation, that’s the status quo and this is one more time, where I’m being asked ... to stay on,” he said.
Dilkens said the board feels it’s important that the people who led the Amherstburg policing proposal are still around to see the process through. The town will hold public consultations Jan. 17, Jan. 18, Jan. 25 and Jan. 27.
Town council is expected to make a decision at its Feb. 26 meeting.
If Amherstburg decides to keep its police force, “Well, I guess the worst-case scenario is we’ve got a great chief who’s going to stay on for 17 months,” said the mayor, who chairs the police services board.
“It’s not like we’re in the position that everyone was frustrated with Al Frederick and couldn’t wait for him to leave,” Dilkens said.
“Quite frankly, we’re very happy he’s staying because he’s done a great job.”
Policing is a profession of ups and downs and curveballs. CHIEF AL FREDERICK