A veteran police officer is coming out of retirement to take the helm of the Saint John police force temporarily.
Bruce Connell, former deputy police chief, takes over as interim chief on April 1.
Jennifer Carhart is the chair of the Saint John Police Commission and tells CHSJ News they were not seeking out a retired person but the best interim candidate.
“Bruce knows the community and the operation thoroughly, he knows the men and women on the team and can provide for us the steady leadership we need while we go through the search for a new candidate,” says Carhart.
“Our decision was to have an interim person to allow for the commission to have a proper recruitment process, because the recruitment process, folks might not know, it takes up to 10 months from start to finish.”
Carhart says the interim position lasts up to two years.
