Sophie Roy could be the first woman to serve as Montreal police chief
As interim director, she would not be a candidate for the job of permanent police chief.
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Montreal is set to name Sophie Roy, the assistant director of Montreal police for criminal investigations, as interim police chief when current chief Sylvain Caron retires next week.
The appointment would make Roy Montreal’s first female police chief.
Montreal’s public security committee, made up of six city councillors and two island mayors, met behind closed doors Tuesday morning to confirm the choice of Roy as interim director, sources told the Montreal Gazette.
The appointment must be approved by Montreal city council and Quebec’s Public Security Ministry.
Roy is best known for reorganizing the force’s internal affairs division after an investigation in 2017 revealed it was wracked by warring clans, mistrust and vengeance. The crisis forced the departure of then-police chief Philippe Pichet.
In 2010, she was named commander of Station 39 in Montreal North, taking over amid bitter controversy and violent protests surrounding the 2008 police shooting of 18-year-old Fredy Villanueva.
Known as a hard worker, the 35-year police veteran is a close associate of Caron, who was also assistant director of criminal investigations from March to December 2018, when he was sworn in as police chief.
As interim chief, Roy would not be a candidate for the job of permanent police chief, a position Mayor Valérie Plante has said she intends to fill by September.
Plante’s office refused to confirm the appointment on Tuesday.
Caron announced last month he would retire from the 6,000-employee force on April 22, saying he was stepping down 20 months before the end of his five-year contract for “purely personal” reasons.
The departing chief acknowledged there had been occasional communication breakdowns with the Plante administration over issues like police station closings. On Jan. 6, he floated the idea of closing precincts to rein in costs — a proposal shot down by Plante, who said she stood by a moratorium on future closings.
Plante said in March that an interim chief would be named to give the city time to choose a permanent successor for Caron. Among potential candidates whose names have been touted for the post are Vincent Richer, the assistant director for corporate services; Pascal Richard, a chief inspector and second in command at corporate services; communications director Anne Chamandy; and deputy chief Marc Charbonneau.
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