For a few months, Battlefords RCMP has been without a permanent commanding officer.
RCMP transferred Insp. John Sutherland to Saskatoon, according to Mayor Ryan Bater, in approximately “July or August.”
“My understanding is that Insp. Sutherland was re-assigned to their central district office in Saskatoon because of some vacancies there,” Bater told the News-Optimist this week.
Staff/Sgt. Darcy Woollfitt has been acting in the position, but Bater said it “wasn't a permanent post,” and Woolfitt is currently acting in the interim until RCMP find a replacement.
“We transfer and move people around all the time,” Cpl. Rob King, media relations officer, said Tuesday.
According to King, Sutherland’s previous role “[oversaw] operations at the detachment,” along with overseeing all the sections in the detachment.
The transfer, King said, is considered “a lateral move,” such that Sutherland’s rank didn't change.
Mayor Ryan Bater said he hasn’t heard anything about who Sutherland’s replacement might be.
Bater said the City of North Battleford has a contract with the RCMP, but they “do not have a voice in terms of their internal human resources process.”
Bater said, at the moment, he hasn’t heard about a new commanding officer.
Sutherland recently appeared in a recent W5 documentary about crime in the Battlefords, but Bater said the documentary was filmed earlier this year when Sutherland was still in his previous role.
Regarding the city’s crime reduction strategy, Bater said the city’s plans are still being implemented and there is no change.
Sutherland began as Battlefords RCMP commanding officer in January 2014. In 2016, Sutherland won a Leadership Award from the Saskatchewan Association of Chiefs of Police.
