Edmonton police chief Rod Knecht will not have contract renewed

The Edmonton Police Service will be scouting for a new chief.

Rod Knecht, who has been at the helm since 2011, will not have his contract renewed when it expires at the end of October.

The decision has already been communicated to all members of the police service, said Sgt. Michael Elliott, president of the Edmonton Police Association.

"All membership has been alerted of his contract not being renewed," Elliott told CBC Wednesday evening.

Knecht had been upfront about his desire to extend his contract, which had been renewed once before in 2013.

As he told CBC in April, he was prepared for the decision to go either way.

At that time, he said the discussion with the police commission was around "the tweaking of the contract and an extension."

He said that he had more objectives that he wanted to complete, including putting a cyber strategy in place and succession planning.

The police commission is expected to make a formal statement Thursday, Elliott said.