Al Frederick to be next Windsor Police chief

Al Frederick is the new Windsor Police chief, CBC News has learned.

Essex OPP Insp. Rick Derus, who applied to be chief, and Windsor Police superintendent Vince Power, will be named deputy chiefs.

Mayor Eddie Francis, who also chairs the Windsor Police Services Board, informed the board, top brass and the police union of the changes at a closed-door meetings Wednesday evening.

The changes will be announced at a news conference Thursday.

Frederick was appointed interim chief after former chief Gary Smith resigned amid allegations of police brutality and other scandals last December.

Frederick was the only internal candidate interviewed for the job.

Former deputy chief Jerome Brannagan retired earlier Wednesday. He said he never wanted the department’s top job and never applied.

Just days after being named interim chief,it was Frederick who announced Project Accountability, a 27-point plan designed to clean up and enhance the embattled police service.

Francis had previously hoped to name a new chief by mid-summer, but that didn’t happen.

Frederick’s appointment brings an 11-month search to an end.It was a search the Windsor Police Association once called “disgraceful.”

For nearly a year, Francis maintained the police services board would not be rushed into making a selection. He always said the board wanted to make sure they get the right person for the job.

Francis told CBC News that Frederick was “best candidate for the job.”

Frederick takes reign of a department that even he previously said needs a change in culture.

Earlier this year,video surfaced that showed what appears to be a Windsor Police officer allegedly kicking and punching a non-combative man in a stairwell at a housing complex.

In the video, a young black man is seen lying in a stairwell. A man that appears to be a uniformed police officer punches the man once and kicks him twice.

Rice was been charged with assault after someone turned in video that appears to show the accused kicking a man. Rice, a 12-year veteran of the force, was also suspended with pay.

Deputy chief Derus is a Massey high school and University of Windsor grad. He has served the OPP for 29 years. He was named Essex County OPP detachment commander in 2006.

Power, 47, was also born and raised in Windsor. He’s been a member of the Windsor Police Services since 1985 and was named superintendent in 2008.