Montreal police chief suspended and replaced by head of provincial force
MONTREAL — Quebec’s public security minister suspended the Montreal police chief on Wednesday after a damning report criticized Philippe Pichet’s inability to restore public faith in the much-maligned force.
Pichet, who was appointed to the top job in 2015, will be replaced by Martin Prud’homme, the current No.1 within the Quebec provincial police.
Public Security Minister Martin Coiteux said he had no choice but to suspend Pichet given a report he received last week into the inner workings of the Montreal police department.
In his report, Michel Bouchard spoke of a “deep malaise” and said the “confidence of civil and police personnel in the police leadership is at an extremely worrying level.”