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Calgary Police Service

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Calgary Police Service
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MottoOnward (Same as City of Calgary)
Agency overview
Formed1885
Employees3,006 (2022)
Annual budgetapproximately 500 million dollars
Jurisdictional structure
Operations jurisdictionCity of Calgary, Alberta, Canada
Size820.62 sq km
Population1 306 784
Governing bodyCalgary Police Commission
Constituting instrument
  • Police Act
General nature
Operational structure
Headquarters5111 47th Street NE
Calgary
Sworn members2134 (2022)
Non-sworn members874 (2022)
Elected officer responsible
  • The Honorable Mickey Amery, Minister of Justice and Solicitor General
Agency executives
  • Mark Neufeld, Chief Constable
  • Paul Cook, Deputy Chief
  • Chad Tawfik, Deputy Chief
  • Katie McLellan, Deputy Chief
  • Raj Gill, Deputy Chief
  • Kim Armstrong, Chief People Officer
Facilities
Stations8 (excluding headquarters)
Notables
Programme
  • Helicopter Air Watch for Community Safety
Website
www.calgary.ca/cps.html

Calgary Police Service (CPS) is the municipal police service of the City of Calgary, Alberta, Canada. It is the largest municipal police service in Alberta and third largest municipal force in Canada behind the Toronto Police Service and the Montreal Police Service.

History

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The Calgary Police Service was founded on February 7, 1885,[1] and initially consisted of two constables led by Chief Jack Ingram.[2]

On October 8, 1993, Constable Rick Sonnenberg was preparing a spike strip to stop a stolen vehicle when he was struck by the fleeing motorist and killed.[3] In the wake of his death and fundraising from the Sonnenberg family, the force acquired a helicopter and formed the Helicopter Air Watch for Community Safety (HAWCS) unit in 1995. In 2003, a second helicopter was purchased, expanding the unit.[4]

In 1995, the Calgary Police Commission appointed Christine Silverberg as chief of police, making her the first woman to lead a large police force in Canada.[note 1][5] Silverberg served as chief until 2000, when she retired from the police service.

Shortly after Christmas in 2013, two Calgary police officers and their supervisor detained Godfred Addai after his car became stuck in a snowbank. The officers then released Addai, who was wearing light clothing, in an under-construction community three kilometres from his home, providing him with no aid or clothing despite freezing temperatures and advising police dispatchers to ignore Addai's 9-1-1 calls as he was "just a drunken fool".[6] After Addai called 9-1-1 twice, Constable Trevor Lindsay attended the scene and tased Addai before being captured by a HAWCS helicopter video camera repeatedly punching a handcuffed Addai in the head and back.[6] Addai was charged with assaulting a peace officer, but was acquitted at trial.[6] Cst. Lindsay was later convicted of aggravated assault for an unrelated 2015 incident when he threw a handcuffed detainee to the ground in a police station parking lot, fracturing his skull.[7] Cst. Lindsay resigned from the Calgary Police Service in 2020.[8]

In the early 2010s, in response to regional applicant shortages, the Calgary Police Service briefly accepted applications from international police officers who were not already landed immigrants, permanent residents, or citizens of Canada.[9] The force had ended the program by 2017.[10]

In May 2019, CPS has considered relaunching its auxiliary cadet program, which was launched in 2013 and disbanded in April 2019 due to union concerns on staffing and safety.[11][12]

On New Year's Eve, 2020, Sgt. Andrew Harnett, who had been employed by the Calgary Police Service for 12 years, stopped a car after noticing the vehicle's licence plate didn't match its registration.[13] As Harnett and two other officers who had responded to the traffic stop prepared to arrest the vehicle's passenger on an outstanding warrant, the driver fled the scene with Harnett holding onto the driver's side door.[14] Harnett was dragged 427 metres before falling off of the vehicle and being struck by oncoming traffic.[13]

Line of duty deaths

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Since its formation in 1885, twelve Calgary Police officers have been killed in the line of duty.[15]

  • 1917 – Constable Arthur Duncan (gunfire)
  • 1933 – Inspector Joe Carruthers (gunfire)
  • 1941 – Constable Wilf Cox (motorcycle collision)
  • 1957 – Constable Ken Delmage (motorcycle collision)
  • 1974 – Detective Boyd Davidson (gunfire)
  • 1976 – Staff Sgt. Keith Harrison (gunfire)
  • 1977 – Constable Bill Shelever (gunfire)
  • 1992 – Constable Rob Vanderwiel (gunfire)
  • 1993 – Constable Rick Sonnenberg (hit while attempting to stop stolen vehicle)
  • 2000 – Constable John Petropoulos (injuries sustained in fall)
  • 2001 – Constable Darren Beatty (injuries sustained during training exercise)
  • 2020 - Sergeant Andrew Harnett (succumbed to injuries dealt to him while performing traffic stop)

Organization

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Rank structure

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Members of the Calgary Police Service, including Police Chief Mark Neufeld, pose for a photo at the Canada Day festivities in Calgary, Alberta
Rank Chief Constable Deputy Chief Superintendent Inspector Regimental Sergeant Major Staff Sergeant Sergeant / Detective Senior Constable level 2 Senior Constable level 1 Constable (classes 1 to 5, sworn officer) Auxiliary (un-sworn-officer)
Insignia
c
c
No insignia No insignia
Slip-on Slip-on Slip-on Slip-on Arm patch Arm patch Arm patch Arm patch Arm patch

Divisions

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Members of the mounted unit of the Calgary Police Service on duty at Olympic Plaza

The CPS is divided into the following sections:

  • Administration
  • Chief Crowfoot Learning Centre
  • Community and youth services
  • Community liaison
  • Criminal operations
  • Finance
  • Fleet and facilities
  • Human resources
  • Information communication technology section
  • Investigation support
  • Major crimes
  • Operations audit
  • Organized crime control
  • Professional standards
  • Real time operations centre (RTOC)
  • Support
  • Traffic services

Equipment

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CPS officers on foot patrol

Vehicles

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2020 Ford Police Interceptor Utility
CPS Ford police interceptor utility
CPS Ford police interceptor sedan

Most vehicles used by the Calgary Police Service are imported from the United States and use the black and white colour scheme common of police vehicles in the United States, due to the increased recognition of this color scheme as used by police.

Vehicles currently in use include:

See also

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Notes

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  1. ^ Lenna Bradburn led the smaller Guelph Police Service from 1994 until 2000.

References

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  1. ^ Ward, Tom (1975). Cowtown : an album of early Calgary. Calgary: City of Calgary Electric System, McClelland and Stewart West. p. 274. ISBN 0-7712-1012-4. Retrieved 2013-06-17.
  2. ^ Shiels, Bob (1974). Calgary : a not too solemn look at Calgary's first 100 years. Calgary: The Calgary Herald. p. 119. Archived from the original on 2015-09-24. Retrieved 2013-06-05.
  3. ^ "Calgary constable's memorial moved at the request of his family". Global News.
  4. ^ "HAWCS: Calgary's Eye in the Sky". Archived from the original on 2012-03-06. Retrieved 2010-06-17.
  5. ^ "On this day in 1995 - Christine Silverberg named first female police chief". Calgary Herald.
  6. ^ a b c "Six years after his violent arrest, Calgary man says he's still waiting for justice". CBC News.
  7. ^ "Cop who fractured man's skull during arrest convicted of aggravated assault". CBC News.
  8. ^ "Calgary police officer resigns ahead of disciplinary hearings for allegedly violent arrests". CTV News. 10 September 2020.
  9. ^ Service, Calgary Police (24 January 2013). "Welcome". www.calgarypolice.ca.
  10. ^ "The City of Calgary - Requirements". Archived from the original on 2015-03-20.
  11. ^ "Calgary police eye auxiliary cadet program relaunch after complaints". CBC News. 29 May 2019. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  12. ^ Rumbolt, Ryan (24 April 2019). "Police auxiliary cadet program cancelled after union raises staffing and safety concerns". Calgary Herald. Retrieved 18 May 2024.
  13. ^ a b "Man pleads guilty to manslaughter in death of police officer from Hagersville". CTV News. 9 December 2021.
  14. ^ "'Hold tight, we're here': Calgary officer who tried to save Sgt. Andrew Harnett testifies at murder trial". CBC News.
  15. ^ Service, Calgary Police (24 January 2013). "Welcome". www.calgarypolice.ca.
  16. ^ "Calgary police augmenting motorcycle fleet with sportier models | Calgary Herald". May 6, 2017. Retrieved Nov 26, 2019.
  17. ^ "2015 Harley-Davidson® FLHTP Electra Glide® Police" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on March 4, 2016.
  18. ^ Service, Calgary Police (24 January 2013). "Helicopter Air Watch for Community Safety HAWCS". www.calgary.ca.

Further reading

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Wikimedia Commons has media related to Calgary Police Service.
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