London's new police chief starts June 1
CTV
On the same day London Police Chief Steve Williams retirement takes effect, a new chief was announced.
Thai Truong has been named as London's new chief of police.
Truong previously worked as a commander in all four units of York Regional Police and Richmond Hill.
In making the announcement, London Police Services Board Chair Ali Chahbar said Truong will be the City of London's first racially diverse chief of police.
Speaking on Monday, Truong said, "Leadership to me is very important. I have been an officer for almost 22 years. Some would say that's a long time and some would say that's not enough time, but I can tell you that the numbers are irrelevant and what matters is your experience and what you've experienced in life and in policing. That is what is important and I have a lot of experience and I am proud of all the good experiences that I’ve been through and all the bad.”
Speaking on the current state of the city, Truong said, “Today is more challenging than ever and it's every difficult on members on the front line and the leadership team to keep our community safe. As a leader I will do everything I can to make sure the people who depend on me are successful.”
When asked about the decision to hire externally from London Police Service, Chahbar said, “We received a whole host of applications, internally, externally — we engaged in a very deliberate process...there was a discussion, debate and ultimately at the end of the day we made the decision that we did. It wasn’t internal versus external, it was about the candidate that we felt was appropriate for this position.”
Truong’s tenure will take effect on June 1.
