Regina Police Service (RPS) Chief Evan Bray finishes up his last week as he retires from the force after serving 28 years. Bray served his role leading the RPS since 2016. The RPS invited Global’s Katherine Ludwig on a ride-along during his final week as chief of police. Here is what the duo talked about during their ride.
Katherine Ludwig (KL): So, tell me about the retirement. It’s coming up this week. How has this last week been for you?
Chief Evan Bray (EB): I’ve said to many people it’s quite bittersweet. I’m excited about the opportunity to retire (and) to kind of start a new chapter in life. But I’ve absolutely loved my career. And any time you spend the better part of three decades with an organization, it’s like you’re leaving a little chunk of yourself there. Walking through the hallways over the last couple of months since I’ve announced my retirement. Having such great conversations with some of the most incredible people I’ve ever worked with. And so this is a great organization. I’m proud of the police service. But I’m also — I’m excited.
KL: What influenced you to become a police officer?
EB: I wanted to be a police officer from about the age of five. That’s all I ever wanted to do. I had applied to the RCMP and kind of got told, “Don’t put your life on hold. We’re not doing a lot of hiring right now.” So, I had a guidance counsellor in high school (who) said, “You know what? You’re a bit of a talker. Why don’t you get into the media?” So I did that. I took some training, I did some radio work and worked as the weather guy on Global TV for a while. And then it was during that time that I got introduced to the Regina Police Service. I decided to put my application in and 28 years later, here we are.
KL: And no regrets?
EB: No, no regrets. In fact, you know, I often tell people I feel like media training, job experience and policing are very, very similar. They’re complementary to one another because both jobs are about focusing on communication, building relationships and talking to people. And so, in some ways I feel like it was just a natural move to get into policing. And it’s been outstanding.
KL: Has the job kind of helped you fall in love with the city of Regina? That’s why you decided to stay, grow family here, stay for retirement.
EB: Here’s how I categorize it: When you fall in love with a person or you spend a lot of time with your family, you get to know everything about them. Not only the great stuff, but some of the not-so-great stuff, too. (It) doesn’t mean you love them less. It just means you have a better understanding. And I think it helps you … better love that person. That feels like my relationship with the city of Regina, having policed here for 28 years. I know the tough stuff. I know the stuff that’s not so nice. I know the challenges that we have, but I know also all of the opportunities and the incredible things in this city. To me, that fulsome picture that I have of the city and the community really does make me love it that much more.
KL: In your career, you’ve covered some pretty major cases. What is the most significant case or event that you’ve worked?
EB: I definitely have been involved in lots of cases very early in my career. Within the first year, in fact, I was still in recruit training. I took a call that was the murder of Darrelle Exner. My partner and my training officer and I were first on scene. And that call shaped my career for a lot of ways. Number one, the gravity of the situation, that was not an easy call to attend, easy thing to see. The investigation that followed, I learned a lot from that. My note-taking, my court testimony, literally every essential element of my policing career was formed differently because of that experience.
If you fast forward to the first year of my chief career, we had one of the city’s largest protests with a bunch of teepees right in front of the legislative building. A couple of years after that, we had one of the largest labour disputes the city has ever seen with the Co-op upgrader and Unifor. So, those events were significant as well.
KL: I do want to talk about your team a little more. I have seen you get emotional in the past about how much you appreciate and love your team. Can you just speak on their hard work?
EB: I am an emotional person for sure, and nothing can get me going more than talking about those front-line officers and civilian police personnel through the organization that give their all every day…. We’re an organization of roughly 700 people. That’s a small town. I grew up in a small town about that size. And so being able to know every one of them, I know their families, I know their situations. They’re more than just a bunch of cops to me. They are people that care about this community and have families that care about them. And so I have admiration and appreciation and respect for what they do in our community.
KL: Do you know who’s going to be stepping into your role?
EB: No. So, we’ll have people in an acting position. For the first month, Deputy Chief Lauralee Davis will be the acting chief of police. After that, she’ll be taking a few holidays and Deputy Chief Dean Rae will step in. So the two deputies will kind of share those acting duties. But the search is on right now.
KL: Will there be any way that you’re still involved with the police service at all, even in your retirement?
EB: I don’t think it’s healthy for someone, especially in my position, to kind of try and tag around a little bit too long. I will still attend events. I will still participate. In fact, we have a very active Regina Police Veterans Association, and so I’ll be part of the veterans association. Every year I’ve loved our Regina Police Service round dance…. Those events that the police services hosted over the years, I will continue to go to those. But in terms of the day-to-day stuff and the operational stuff … it’s time for someone else to take the reins and so, I will definitely be stepping back from.