Lloyd Ferguson leaving the police board

Lloyd Ferguson says he won’t be putting his name forward for another term at the helm.

Ferguson lost his wife to cancer a year and a half ago and his brother Murray suffered a paralyzing stroke in 2005 so his daughters are asking him to slow down.

“They’ve made it clear to me that I’m under too much stress and doing too much and I need to ratchet that back a bit.”

He goes out firing parting shots at a trio of police oversight agencies, including the Special Investigations Unit.

“The part that troubles me the most with them or the office of the independent police review director is that they take too long.”

The SIU has invoked its mandate in 334 cases this year. They have 15 full time investigators and 40 as-needed investigators across the province. SIU officials responded to Ferguson’s complaints in a statement:

“An investigation will take as long as required to ensure the report is as thorough as possible so that the director can make an informed and legally appropriate decision.”

Ferguson says it’s an extremely difficult job being an officer nowadays and taking carding away from them as an option, is like taking a valuable tool out of their toolbox.

The province’s minister of community safety and correctional services says that’s not going to change.

“I think that he as a serving member of a police services board has a right to his opinion. We’ve been very clear that we’re not going to return carding to the province of Ontario.”

A new police services board will be appointed next Tuesday.