Prince Albert’s board of police commissioners has responded to the union’s apparent lack of confidence in Chief Jon Bergen.
In a press release issued Wednesday, the board of commissioners says it fully supports Bergen.
Last week, the Prince Albert Police Association issued a statement to media saying 71 per cent of its members no longer have confidence in Bergen.
The statement says this was the result of an online vote in which 94 of 104 members voted.
It also says union president Brian Glynn has resigned for personal reasons.
The statement does not give any potential reasons for the results of the online vote or why it was conducted in the first place.
In the board of police commissioners release, Chair Sheryl Kimbley says the board has full confidence in Bergen and the “quality of leadership he provides in a challenging position.”
Mayor Greg Dionne, who is also a member of the board, says “we are disappointed with some of what we are seeing right now from certain members.”
The release also notes that as recently as May, the union wrote in a letter that it fully supports Bergen.
City council recently took back responsibility for bylaw enforcement, which had been under the authority of police.
This means the Prince Albert Police Service will lose about $355,000 from its budget.
Officers also recently came under fire after a video surfaced on social media of the rough arrest of an Indigenous man at the end of June.
The Prince Albert Grand Council issued a media release about the incident saying it believed excessive force was used.
According to another PAGC release, officials from Prince Albert police, the tribal council and city met on June 30 to discuss the incident.
The release says all three groups committed to reconciliation.
(PHOTO: Prince Albert’s board of police commissioners says it fully supports Chief Jon Bergen after the union issued a statement saying he lacks the confidence of its members. File photo.)