Negotiations to extend the contract for Edmonton’s police chief fell apart when the two sides failed to bridge a three-month gap.
That’s according to a statement released Friday morning by Chief Rod Knecht, who said he was offered an extension he thought wasn’t long enough to achieve goals he had set for himself and the police service.
Knecht said in recent months he had discussed a contract extension with the Edmonton Police Commission and told members he had several initiatives he wanted to put in place or finalize before he left.
Those included, he said:
- Setting up a cyber crimes strategy and increasing the police service’s cyber-crime investigative capacity;
- Working with governments, philanthropists and the private sector to set up a community wellness centre;
- Ensuring the successful launch of an operations and intelligence command centre for the second quarter of 2019;
- Seeing through two major capital projects, including the northwest division campus and a new administrative building, and;
- Mentoring senior leaders to prepare them to better compete for the job of chief of police in mid-2019.
“I calculated that to best advance these initiatives, and assist with the selection of a new chief, it would take until the end of June 2019,” Knecht said.
He said he asked for an extension until next June and the request was initially accepted by the chair and vice-chair of the commission in March.
A few weeks later, Knecht said, the commission offered him a contract extension until the end of March 2019.
The difference came down to three months.
The chief said he didn’t think a five-month extension was enough time to address the priorities he had set out.
“I also felt it wouldn’t be in the best interests of the organization or the community to leave in the midst of such significant organizational change,” he said.
The commission offered no other options, Knecht said, so he decided to complete his existing contract, which concludes at the end of October.