Serving as Winnipeg police chief a privilege but 'a heavy burden,' Smyth says as he announces 2024 retirement
Danny Smyth, who has been chief since 2016, said Friday he'll step down next September
Danny Smyth says he'll hang up his hat in September 2024.
Winnipeg's police chief, who has held the position since 2016, made the announcement Friday morning at the police board meeting at city hall.
His official last day will be Sept. 3, 2024.
"I just wanted to take the opportunity to thank the police board for the opportunity to serve as Winnipeg's 18th chief of police, and the first chief in the history of Winnipeg that was actually selected by the board," he said during the meeting.
Smyth has served as a Winnipeg police officer for more than 38 years. After seven years in his current role, he's one of the longest-serving police chiefs in Canada.
After Friday's meeting, Smyth told reporters he's seen big shifts over that time, including changing technology and changing attitudes toward police and their role in society.
His time as the head of the Winnipeg Police Service encompassed many social upheavals that changed the nature of policing.
"Certainly the [COVDI-19] pandemic was something that we all experienced, and police had to adapt to that," he said.
"Some of the social justice movements also had a big impact on policing across the world. Those are two areas that probably had a big impact on our membership."
Some of the movements that happened during Smyth's tenure include mass protests against police following the death of George Floyd in Minneapolis in the summer of 2020, and demands to search a Winnipeg-area landfill for the remains of two First Nations women who police believe are among four killed by the same man.
Now 61 years old, Smyth says he wants to enjoy life while he's still in good health.
"It's been a real privilege to do this, but at times it's a heavy burden, you know. So, I think for the first little while, I'll just be catching my breath."
Members of the Winnipeg police board, including Mayor Scott Gillingham, thanked Smyth for his service.
"I think most people can appreciate the role of a police chief in any city, and certainly Winnipeg, is a complex role," Gillingham told reporters. "There's many relationships to manage."
One of the key relationships is with the city's Indigenous population — and it's a relationship board member Kyle Mason described as "strained."
"The last couple years, the Indigenous community and its perception of the Winnipeg Police Service has been strained, to say the least, so I would like to just hear your thoughts and your vision and your goals for your remaining time in office," Mason said to Smyth.
The police chief replied that relationships between the police service and the Indigenous community are important, and will continue to be built upon after he leaves.
"You mentioned that things are 'strained.' I'm not sure where your feedback loop is from, but I continue to have regular contact with leaders in the community, as do many of my members."
It had been expected that Smyth would retire next year, but it was not known when. His contract was set to expire at the end of November, but he was given a verbal extension at that point.
Police board chair Markus Chambers, the councillor for St. Norbert-Seine River, told reporters the board voted in September 2022 to extend the contract to at least until July 2024 to allow Smyth to complete his term as president of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police.
He was named to that position for a two-year term in July 2022.
The City of Winnipeg has started the process of a search to replace him. One of the items on Friday's board meeting agenda was to consider a motion to form a recruitment committee.
