Jason Bellaire named new chief of Windsor police
Jason Bellaire was introduced as Windsor's 19th police chief Tuesday morning.
“We're pleased to welcome him as the chief of the Windsor police,” said Mayor Drew Dilkens after introducing the 27-year police veteran as the new boss.
Bellaire takes over after assuming the role of interim chief eight months ago when Pam Mizuno retired after serving 2.5 years in the position.
“If you would have asked me years ago if I would have ended up in this position I would have been very, very surprised,” said the smiling chief. “I was always proud of the work I was involved in but I never thought that I would elevate to this position.”
Born and raised in Windsor, Bellaire was deputy chief overseeing operational strategies prior to taking over for Mizuno. Before that, he was an inspector for patrol response and was the first point of contact for community groups in Windsor and Amherstburg.
“The board made its decision. Ultimately narrowed down the pool. Interviewed several candidates and felt very comfortable with Jason's interview,” said Dilkens who told the gathering candidates from the RCMP, OPP and senior police administration from across the nation put their names in the hat, but the board found comfort in what Bellaire has done since taking over on an interim basis.
“He's well connected in the community. Knows the players and I think will have the best chance to hitting the ground running and being successful in the role.”
Bellaire wants to address culture change and help the force evolve. He also says his biggest challenge lies in the police response to social and health issues in our community.
“What we really want to do is reduce police interaction with individuals who are better served by other subject matter experts,” said Bellaire, who explained the force will work collaboratively with other agencies to address issues quickly and effectively.
“The police should be supporting rather than taking the lead on those roles which is what we're having conversations about with our community partners right now.”
Bellaire's five-year term begins Thursday, Dec. 1.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.