The Edmonton Police Commission (EPC) said Thursday that Edmonton Police Service (EPS) Chief Rod Knecht will be leaving his post in the fall when his contract ends.
In a statement, the EPC thanked Knecht for his seven years as head of EPS. He was sworn in on June 7, 2011.
“Chief Knecht has been committed to delivering a professional level of service exceeding expectations through his focus on adaptive leadership, heightened accountability and enhanced relationships,” EPS chair Tim O’Brien said in a statement.
“Over the past seven years, Chief Knecht has also demonstrated strong leadership through his work with both the Alberta Association of Chiefs of Police and the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police.”
Mayor Don Iveson spoke to reporters about the news Thursday.
“I have nothing but good things to say about the chief, and I’m sorry to see him go,” Iveson said.
“The very mature relationship that he and I developed over complicated issues like police funding, in particular, we made some really good progress. Getting to that formula-based mechanism for police funding, which has really depoliticized the sort of annual grind about police resourcing and given them certainty and us certainty for tax planning.”
Knecht will leave EPS at the end of October 2018.
The commission said a national search is underway to find a replacement.
