The Windsor Police Chief says he does understand the concerns from the community following the new appointment of Sgt Kent Rice.
During the police board meeting on Thursday, Chief Jason Bellaire commented on the fact that some members of the community, specifically those among the Black community, have raised concern about Rice being appointed as the new Windsor Police Association (WPA) president.
Sgt Rice was appointed as the new president, passing outgoing president Shawn McCurdy in votes for the role.
According to CTV Windsor, Rice was demoted for 18 months from first class, to second-class constable in September 2015 after an excessive force incident.
He pleaded guilty to unnecessary use of force and discreditable conduct in an incident against Gladson Chinyangwa was recorded on a building security camera in the stairwell of the McDougall Street apartment on February 22, 2012.
It cost him $14,000 in salary as a result.
Bellaire says he's known Rice for quite a long time.
"I was not working with him unit wise, I was in a different unit when that happened years ago. Since then, Sergeant Rice has demonstrated that he's been a good officer, he's been a good member of our police service, he's been a good leader internally. But, the optics aren't great for that."
He says he has no objection to what has been said by advocates on the matter.
"We're going to have to sit down and certainly speak about it and decide what we want to do about it moving forward. I can't simply remove somebody as the WPA president, nor should that be the answer. I think dialogue is always best, I have no objection to what's been said in the media by some of the advocates in the community, they have a right to speak their mind and to some degree they make a good point."
Bellaire says the police membership have demonstrated a willingness to work with everyone in the community.
"We have really made great strides in our equity, diversity, inclusivity strategies. We are working with all sectors of the community across the spectrum of our community. So, having issues like this is expected from time to time, but I think we'll get through it, and I think we'll get through it because the advocates in our Black community will help us through it."
Rice tells CTV Windsor that he is still assuming control of the position, but is ready to take on the challenges.
He also says he has never forgotten the incident, and tries to mentor new officers to learn from his mistakes, to be professional and treat people with dignity, and do the right thing all the time.
-with files from CTV Windsor