New Police Chief takes charge of the Lethbridge Police Service

Chief Mehdisadeh was also welcomed by Blackfoot elders, Morris Litttle Wolf and Harley Crowshoe, who offered a Blackfoot prayer and presented the new Police Chief with a blanket. In a surprise event at the ceremony, Mehdizadeh was also given the Blackfoot name Wolf Butte.

The new chief was impressed by what he called a beautiful ceremony and felt it was ‘icing on the cake’ when the elders wrapped him in a ceremonial blanket. He said it was an absolute honour to be given a Blackfoot name and offered his thanks to the Blackfoot community.

In his opening message, the new Chief spoke about hard work.

“This is a country that has taught people that when you have a vision and you put some effort and work towards it, you can achieve anything you want – and as an immigrant in this country, I am living proof of that. I have the honour and priviledge of moving to this country and making a life, getting the job that I have loved to do for many years, starting a family and now realizing a big goal in my career – being Chief of Police.”

The new Chief, his wife and daughter have just begun to settle into the city and he is anxious to look over his new department. Initially, he wants the force to continue do the work they’ve already been doing.

“I’m not a guy to come and try to change things but, I’m also someone who like to look at what we are doing and see how we can do it better – and that’s something that I really want to encourage all the employees to start looking at – where we can find efficiences and where we can find opportunities to serve the community better.”

The Chief added, “That reflects on a discussion with the community and what their wishes are.”

Mehdisadeh was questioned about public tension regarding local police actions, such as the suspension of an officer without pay, the Shannon Phillips spying case, and the Star Wars Storm Trooper incident.

He responded by pointing out policing is always under a microscope and there are no perfect police forces in this country.

“Our challenge is always to do he best job that we can to serve the community – at times, the ball is dropped. The key is to look at what event happened and how we can correct that and move forward,”

“I can’t promise there won’t be mistakes or bad things happening in the future, but when they do happened, it’s critical to be accountable and do the responsible thing, to make sure we get ahead of that and do what is needed to make sure these things don’t reoccur in the future.”

Mehdizadeh was unanimously chosen to serve as the new Chief by the nine-member Lethbridge Police Commission, which provides civilian oversight to the LPS.

He previously served as the RCMP Chief Superintendent, Central Alberta District.

Mehdizadeh began his policing career with the RCMP in 1989. He is an accomplished police executive with more than 30 years’ of national and international policing experience. Mehdizadeh has lived and served in four provinces and worked projects in every province throughout Canada in policing disciplines including general patrol duties, major crimes, drugs and organized crime, covert operations and national security.

He has worked internationally with law enforcement partners in Europe, the US and Mexico as well as many Canadian agencies in numerous joint forces operations spanning from Vancouver to Halifax. Mehdizadeh is a Member of the Order of Merit of the Police Forces (M.O.M) and has a proven track record of success in leading initiatives to counter and prevent crime, promote public safety and build strong relationships with communities.

by Dori Modney

New Police Chief takes charge of the Lethbridge Police Service

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