A Chapter Closes: Regina’s Police Chief Farooq Sheikh Officially Steps Down Amidst Lingering Questions

And so, after months of administrative leave, the news many in Regina had perhaps quietly anticipated has been made official: Farooq Sheikh is no longer the city's Police Chief. The Regina Board of Police Commissioners, for their part, announced the decision, effective immediately, on Friday. A significant shift, wouldn't you say, for the force and the community it serves?

Taking the reins, at least for now, is Deputy Chief Dean Rae, who has been appointed as Acting Chief. This kind of transition, while sometimes necessary, always brings a certain air of change, doesn't it? A new hand on the tiller, guiding the ship through, well, whatever comes next.

The backdrop to all of this, in truth, stretches back to October 2023. That's when Sheikh was first placed on administrative leave, a phrase that often signals an internal process is underway, albeit one shrouded in a predictable official silence. It was then that the Saskatchewan Public Complaints Commission embarked on an investigation, the specifics of which, alas, remain largely under wraps, leaving many to wonder about the precise circumstances.

The Commission, we now know, concluded its findings in March of this year. The report landed on the desk of the Board of Police Commissioners, who then took their time — deliberating, one presumes, until a decision was finally reached on April 26. Mayor Sandra Masters, who chairs the Board, along with the other commissioners, ultimately made the call. And the reason for Sheikh's departure? It's the standard, albeit slightly frustrating, refrain: "personnel matters." Meaning, of course, that we, the public, are not privy to the nitty-gritty details, leaving a certain void in the narrative.

Farooq Sheikh himself had been appointed Chief in July 2020, coming to Regina after a long and distinguished 30-year career with the Toronto Police Service. His tenure, you could say, has certainly seen its share of challenges and, undoubtedly, triumphs. The Board, in a gesture that’s customary in such situations, did express gratitude for his service and extended their best wishes for his future endeavours. It’s a diplomatic ending to what has been, by all accounts, a period of quiet but significant internal activity for the Regina Police Service.