The New Westminster Police Department is “forever indebted” to the leadership of Mayor Jonathan Cote, says Chief Const. Dave Jansen.
At the Sept. 27 police board meeting, New Westminster’s police chief acknowledged Cote’s service to the police department and police board. The mayor is the chair of the police board, and, because Cote is not running in this month’s election and cannot be re-elected, his time as chair of the police board has come to an end.
“We will probably talk about the last three or four years for our lives,” Jansen said. “I took over chief just before a pandemic, just before a really important but challenging conversation that occurred within the world regarding where police fit in that; and then some really challenging budget times. Your leadership, your direction, your quiet wisdom got us through some really, really tough times.”
Jansen said the NWPD, including sworn and auxiliary members, and the police board, appreciated Cote’s leadership during the COVID-19 pandemic, when people were stressed about how it was going to affect their livelihoods.
“Right from the get-go, he was adamant that he would do whatever he could to make sure nobody lost their jobs and were able to continue to put food on the table for their family,” he said. “That really went a long way, I can tell you, from our department. And I had really touching emails from some of our, even our auxiliary staff that were really worried about making ends meet, because of what was happening.”
Jansen presented Cote with a gift from the NWPD, continuing a longstanding tradition for departing police board chairs.
“It's a flag box that has the department flag, the provincial flag, and just a little write up here in regards to the service that has been shown to the department,” Jansen said. “You're going to be greatly missed.”
Cote said he jumped into the mayor’s role with a passion for urban planning and transportation policy.
“Police was not an area that I had a lot of experience in, but it's actually been a really incredible experience,” he said. “I've learned a lot about the community and obviously the police department during this time.”
Cote said it’s been an incredible experience to work with so many engaging board members and a great community at the police department.
“No doubt, the last number of years have been challenging,” he said. “But, you know, I think we have kind of demonstrated how resilient we are and how we want to be that modern, progressive police department that is a leader in our region; recognizing that, yes, we are facing our struggles and we do need to evolve, but we want to do right for the community and we're here to serve the community. And that's always been the heart of the work that we do here.”
Officer recognized
Inspector Andrew Perry received his “officer commissions” at the Sept. 27 police board meeting.
Jansen presented the commission to Perry, on behalf of the Lieutenant Governor of British Columbia. He said the issuance of commissions is done to formally recognize high-caliber senior officers for their rank, professionalism and dedication to policing in B.C.
