Hamilton Police Services board gets new look

There will soon be two new faces on the Hamilton Police Services board.

Ancaster councillor, and current board chair, Lloyd Ferguson, has announced that he will not seek re-appointment to the board when Hamilton city council chooses its representatives in the coming weeks.

Coun. Terry Whitehead has also said that he will not return to the police services board, meaning that two new councillors will join Mayor Fred Eisenberger as council’s three representatives on the seven-member board.

Ferguson is not going quietly saying that the loss of “carding” as a policing tool makes it difficult for officers to do their jobs.

Ferguson says if somebody is walking down the street at 2:30 a.m. with a crossbar, he fully expects a police officer to stop and talk to them, but he adds “they can’t do that now.”

He believes the result is that “bad guys feel good about carrying guns again.”

Ferguson also complains that Ontario’s police oversight agencies, the Ontario Civilian Police Commission, Ontario Independent Police Review Board, and Special Investigations Unit, take a “ridiculous amount of time” to process complaints against officers.

He says the result is that officers can have a “black cloud” over their heads for months or even years.

Ferguson adds that stepping away from the Hamilton Police Services Board will allow him to focus on unfinished priorities, including construction of the new Ancaster arts centre and urbanization of Southcote Road.

He also says leaving the police services board will “get some stress off my life,” something that he’s been under pressure to do from his three adult daughters.