Saskatoon police chief retiring in mid-January

Saskatoon's chief of police will retire in mid-January, bringing an end to his 36-year career in law enforcement. 

Troy Cooper, who has served as chief of the Saskatoon Police Service (SPS) for six years, announced his decision at a press conference on Thursday. 

Cooper says the challenges facing policing factored into his decision. 

"It just happens to be the age demographic that we're coming to. Plus, we came through a very challenging time in policing that exhausted a lot of police executives and, you know, it took a lot of extra energy to  deal with calls for police reform and to make sure that our staff were healthy through COVID," Cooper said. 

Cooper said his health also played a role: Earlier this year, he suffered a heart attack.

"I don't wanna scare anybody, I'm absolutely healthy," he said. "I'm receiving great treatment. But just as I recover — and it's going to take awhile for me to come back to the same level of energy I once had — my concern was that it wouldn't be fair to my employer, to the community for me to do that while in place," he said. 

Cooper becomes the third police chief in the province to step down this year: Prince Albert's Jonathan Bergen retired in May and Evan Bray retired at the end of June in Regina.

During his tenure, Cooper lead the SPS through a period that included the legalization of marijuana in Canada, calls for police reform and the COVID-19 pandemic. 

He also implemented programs that support community safety, accountability and business practices. 

In a statement, the Board of Police Commissioners said they believe Cooper's most notable accomplishments has been his work in community policing. 

That includes the creation of a hate crimes unit and an alternative measures unit, as well as strengthening partnerships with education, social service and health-care organizations, according to the board. 

Saskatoon Mayor Charlie Clark, who also serves as a police board commissioner, thanked Cooper for his service. 

"Chief Cooper has been able to do tremendous work in strengthening and modernizing the Saskatoon Police Service while also deepening community relationships in meaningful ways. These attributes have been instrumental through many challenging situations in these turbulent times," Clark said in the statement. 

The Board of Police Commissioners says it will announce the process it will use to replace Cooper in the coming weeks. 

The board will name an acting police chief next month. The acting chief will serve from Cooper's last day of work, Jan. 16, 2024, and the date a new chief of police is appointed.