‘Sometimes the pressure gets you going’, says Keith Cain, months after man died in back of squad car
‘I knew the challenges’: Lethbridge police chief aware of problems before taking job
Keith Cain has stepped down from his role as the chief of the Lethbridge police force after a man died in the back of a squad car.
On Wednesday, he announced he was stepping down, saying in a statement that “like everyone else, I also knew there were challenges and barriers that needed to be overcome as we progressed”.
On 28 August, a man who had a history of mental illness was found unresponsive in a police car parked at an apartment complex after he was pulled over by police. As police were trying to revive him, his mother arrived at the scene.
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Cain said he was aware the force had issues like its chronic under-resourcing, which kept the department unable to fill several senior leadership positions.
“The entire community knows that working with public safety is not always easy. However, like everyone else, I also knew there were challenges and barriers that needed to be overcome as we progressed,” he said.
“My time with the Lethbridge police force has been one of the most rewarding and satisfying periods of my life. The honour to serve the people of this city has taught me the depth of our truly caring community.”
He said he hoped to continue to work with the force “to shape and develop the institutional knowledge” that would lead to meaningful change.
Cain joined the force as a cadet in 1986 and was promoted to sergeant in 1996, to lieutenant in 1998 and later to chief. In 2016, he was the Police Chiefs Association of Alberta’s first leader to announce he was stepping down and requesting retirement.
Police reform
The murder of Darrell Beashel, whose body was found in August at a housing complex in Lethbridge, marked the end of months of concerns about the force after another officer was indicted on the third-degree murder charge and two of his colleagues resigned in July.
Cain addressed the issue of public trust, which had taken on new significance in the wake of the case.
“I believe that any time the public loses trust in the system – whether that is a leader within a corporate organisation or a volunteer organization – that is something that has to be addressed,” he said in July.
“Sometimes the pressure gets you going.”