Hundreds of supporters cheered as Charles Bordeleau was publicly sworn in as Ottawa’s police chief Friday morning.
Those present watched Bordeleau, members of his immediate family and various prominent Ottawans follow a piper into the crowded Andrew S. Haydon Hall at 10 a.m.
Justice Jacqueline Loignon, from the Ontario Court of Justice, conducted the short ceremony. “It’s been a very difficult week for Ottawa Police Services,” Bordeleau said when speaking about the trial for the murder of Const. Eric Czapnik, which started Feb. 26 at the courthouse next door.
He asked the audience to stand for a moment to honour and remember fallen officers.
A formal change-of-command ceremony will happen at an unidentified later date with former police chief Vern White, who left his post as chief after being appointed to the Canadian Senate, Bordeleau said.