Former Toronto police board chair calls interim chief’s role extension to end of 2022 ‘unprecedented’

Amid the news the Toronto Police Services Board (TPSB) has extended the appointment of James Ramer as interim chief for another 16 months, the former chair of the governance body is questioning why that decision was made.

“I must say that it has got me extremely puzzled. This is quite unprecedented … I can’t remember or recall a single situation that is similar to this,” Alok Mukherjee, who served as TPSB chair between 2005 and 2015, told Global News Friday afternoon, noting the recruiting process typically occurs over at least a few months.

“I have serious concerns. As far as I can make it out, the Toronto Police Services Board is using exactly the process it has used all along and it is very much the process that police services boards across the country (determining priorities, holding consultations, hiring an executive search firm, shortlisting and then interviews).”

The announcement by the TPSB came just more than a year (July 31, 2020) when former chief Mark Saunders retired from the service. Ramer, then a deputy chief with the service, was appointed by the board to serve in an interim capacity.

As Saunders announced his retirement in June 2020, the TPSB issued a statement saying a hiring process was underway.

“The board is also developing a comprehensive chief selection process to appoint the next chief for the Toronto Police Service, a process that will incorporate public consultation and input in a meaningful and proactive way.”

However, in a statement issued on Friday, the board said Ramer would remain in the job until Dec. 31, 2022 in order to provide “much needed stable leadership” as the city emerges from the COVID-19 pandemic.

“During the remainder of Chief Ramer’s term, the Board’s selection process for the next Chief will continue,” the statement said in part.

“During his term, Chief Ramer has not only navigated the organization with tremendous grace, diplomacy and insight, but he has also demonstrated a sincere and concrete commitment to issues of accountability, transparency and policing reform. Chief Ramer has also meaningfully deepened the service’s relationships with the many communities it serves.”

It went on to say the board wants Ramer to continue with implementing dozens of policing reform recommendations that are already underway.

Mayor John Tory, who is a member of the TPSB, said he agrees with the extension, calling it the “right thing to do at this time” for the service and for Toronto.

“This will ensure the work Chief Ramer has been doing to reach out to communities across the city, to enhance community safety, and to build back up trust between the police and the public will continue over the next year. Chief Ramer has already initiated a significant number of important changes during his time in the job,” he wrote.

“The process of selecting the next Chief of Police is continuing and this additional time will also ensure we find the best candidate to succeed Chief Ramer and that we properly take into account the public consultation that has been underway.”

However, Mukerjee questioned why the board isn’t moving in an expeditious manner in finding a permanent chief who can respond to those priorities.

“We know the pandemic has not stopped public institutions from carrying on their businesses, so I don’t buy their excuse the delay is caused by the pandemic. It does not wash,” he said, speculating that there might be a preferred candidate that’s not available yet or if there’s another reason why Ramer is staying in place.

“The board talks about reform, restoring and building community trust. Those are major goals and objectives.

“You can’t put the plan on hold for an interim period of time if you’re serious about achieving those goals, so I’m afraid by inaction or incompetence — pick your word — the board is seriously jeopardizing the very objectives that it says are driving its search for a new chief.”

Mukherjee called for a more fulsome explanation of the extension of Ramer’s term.

“That requires speed, that requires transparency, that requires on the part of the board to tell the community in a very… upfront way why the delay because one of the most important things, responsibilities for the board is the appointment of the chief of police,” he said.

“The chief of police is your lynchpin in terms of implementing change. You cannot do that with a placeholder, no matter how good Mr. Ramer may be in that job. If Mr. Ramer happens to fit the bill, then the board should come clean and appoint him for a five-year term and say that is our choice. This doesn’t make sense.”

As police services across Canada and North America, including in Toronto, face increased scrutiny when it comes to policing, Mukherjee said there’s an expectation that a new approach will be taken when it comes to community safety.

He said while some positive steps have been taken more recently when it comes to responding to people who are experiencing a mental health crisis, there are lingering concerns about how officers interact with members of racialized and marginalized communities, how surveillance technology is being used, and the broader issue of police accountability.

“The board needs a very bold plan of modernization that goes way beyond whatever plan they put in place when Chief Saunders was appointed six-plus years ago, and to do that the board needs to move expeditiously,” Mukherjee said.

“The board needs to move with a person in the chief’s office who enjoys huge public credibility and who carries the public with them.”

Meanwhile, as for what comes next in the hiring process, the TPSB said a report by Environics Research Group Limited will be submitting a report summing up the public engagement and consultations held over the past year. The board said the report would be released publicly on Aug. 23 and its findings will be used as part of the subsequent executive search process.