Alberta's top Mountie to be named Edmonton police chief: reports

The Edmonton Police Commission will submit Rod Knecht’s name to city council as its choice for new police chief, The Edmonton Journal has learned.

Knecht was formerly Alberta’s top Mountie and was thought to be a front-runner to head up the RCMP, when the position opens up this summer.

If council approves the selection, Knecht will be announced as early as today as the replacement for Mike Boyd, who left the job for family reasons on Dec. 31. Deputy Chief David Korol has been acting chief in the interim.

Knecht is now serving in Ottawa as Senior Deputy Commissioner of the RCMP, a position he took last July. Between October 2007 and July 2010, Knecht was Deputy Commissioner of the northwest region, which includes Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, the Northwest Territories, and Nunavut

In February, RCMP Commissioner William Elliott told reporters Knecht would likely merit serious consideration to replace him when he leaves the position in the summer.

When Knecht’s appointment to senior deputy commissioner was made last May, he said Ottawa would be his 15th and last transfer. At the time, he described his new role as “doing all things RCMP for the entire country.”

The Edmonton Police Commission advertised the top cop job nationally in mid-December and hired consulting firm Conroy Ross to help with the search. Then commission chairman Brian Gibson said the new chief would likely make between $200,000 to $250,000, the going rate in cities of comparable size.

Edmonton Police Association president Sgt. Tony Simioni wouldn’t comment on Knecht until an official announcement is made, but said the union supported casting a wide net during the search.

“We’ve always said let’s not restrict the selection process,” said Simioni. “As long as you’ve had a fair process and you’ve picked the best person.”

Knecht was born in Red Deer and joined the RCMP in 1977, when he was 19. He served in Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta. In 1997, he led the RCMP’s special task force that laid criminal charges against the Canadian Red Cross Society following the tainted-blood scandal.

He took command of the Toronto drug section in 2001 and after 9/11 was responsible for risk management in the Toronto area.

Knecht became Alberta’s second-in-command in 2003. Knecht was in charge of criminal operations when James Roszko shot four young Mounties outside Mayerthorpe in 2005. Earlier this year, Knecht returned to the province as the final witness at a fatality inquiry examining the circumstances around the Mayerthorpe deaths. Knecht praised the “exemplary” actions of the slain officers and expressed the frustrations felt when misinformation publicly circulated after the case.