FALL RIVER: The local councillor wished retired Halifax Regional Police Chief Dan Kinsella all the best during a recent interview.
Cathy Deagle Gammon, who represents Waverley-Fall River-Musquodoboit Valley, said while she didn’t have as much interaction with Kinsella as she would say someone with Halifax District RCMP, the time she did he seemed to fulfill the job he was tasked with.
She is not on the Board of Police Commissionaires, so her interaction would be limited to concerns from her area that HRP cover.
“The chief came in with a job to do that was pretty specific,” she said.
“There were some changes that were warranted and that for the most part, people have felt that he fulfilled that role.”
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Deagle Gammon said HRM is at another stage in policing and how policing is going to look like.
“We’ve got all of these reports that are coming to the Board of Police Commissioners where there are motions within regional council saying for us to look at our policing model and what should it be,” she said.
“There are so many recommendations that we’re looking for, so it makes sense that maybe now is a time for another kind of police chief that is going to look at how do we move all of this forward again.”
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She feels the retirement may be more of a timing issue.
“I think it’s just as with anything else, when there is a change in not so much the job description,” she said.
“Where there’s a change in the culture you need to move an organization through any period, then you’re going to look for the skill set that’s in someone that has the intention to do that.
“I’m sure that after 37 years the man deserves a rest.”
