The Calgary Police Service was founded on February 7, 1885,[1] and initially consisted of two constables led by Chief Jack Ingram.[2]
On October 8, 1993, Constable Rick Sonnenberg was preparing a spike strip to stop a stolen vehicle when he was struck by the fleeing motorist and killed.[3] In the wake of his death and fundraising from the Sonnenberg family, the force acquired a helicopter and formed the Helicopter Air Watch for Community Safety (HAWCS) unit in 1995. In 2003, a second helicopter was purchased, expanding the unit.[4]
In 1995, the Calgary Police Commission appointed Christine Silverberg as chief of police, making her the first woman to lead a large police force in Canada.[note 1][5] Silverberg served as chief until 2000, when she retired from the police service.
Shortly after Christmas in 2013, two Calgary police officers and their supervisor detained Godfred Addai after his car became stuck in a snowbank. The officers then released Addai, who was wearing light clothing, in an under-construction community three kilometres from his home, providing him with no aid or clothing despite freezing temperatures and advising police dispatchers to ignore Addai's 9-1-1 calls as he was "just a drunken fool".[6] After Addai called 9-1-1 twice, Constable Trevor Lindsay attended the scene and tased Addai before being captured by a HAWCS helicopter video camera repeatedly punching a handcuffed Addai in the head and back.[6] Addai was charged with assaulting a peace officer, but was acquitted at trial.[6] Cst. Lindsay was later convicted of aggravated assault for an unrelated 2015 incident when he threw a handcuffed detainee to the ground in a police station parking lot, fracturing his skull.[7] Cst. Lindsay resigned from the Calgary Police Service in 2020.[8]
In the early 2010s, in response to regional applicant shortages, the Calgary Police Service briefly accepted applications from international police officers who were not already landed immigrants, permanent residents, or citizens of Canada.[9] The force had ended the program by 2017.[10]
In May 2019, CPS has considered relaunching its auxiliary cadet program, which was launched in 2013 and disbanded in April 2019 due to union concerns on staffing and safety.[11][12]
On New Year's Eve, 2020, Sgt. Andrew Harnett, who had been employed by the Calgary Police Service for 12 years, stopped a car after noticing the vehicle's licence plate didn't match its registration.[13] As Harnett and two other officers who had responded to the traffic stop prepared to arrest the vehicle's passenger on an outstanding warrant, the driver fled the scene with Harnett holding onto the driver's side door.[14] Harnett was dragged 427 metres before falling off of the vehicle and being struck by oncoming traffic.[13]
Line of duty deaths
Since its formation in 1885, twelve Calgary Police officers have been killed in the line of duty.[15]
1917 – Constable Arthur Duncan (gunfire)
1933 – Inspector Joe Carruthers (gunfire)
1941 – Constable Wilf Cox (motorcycle collision)
1957 – Constable Ken Delmage (motorcycle collision)
1974 – Detective Boyd Davidson (gunfire)
1976 – Staff Sgt. Keith Harrison (gunfire)
1977 – Constable Bill Shelever (gunfire)
1992 – Constable Rob Vanderwiel (gunfire)
1993 – Constable Rick Sonnenberg (hit while attempting to stop stolen vehicle)
2000 – Constable John Petropoulos (injuries sustained in fall)
2001 – Constable Darren Beatty (injuries sustained during training exercise)
2020 - Sergeant Andrew Harnett (succumbed to injuries dealt to him while performing traffic stop)
Organization
Rank structure
Members of the Calgary Police Service, including Police Chief Mark Neufeld, pose for a photo at the Canada Day festivities in Calgary, Alberta
Rank
Chief Constable
Deputy Chief
Superintendent
Inspector
Regimental Sergeant Major
Staff Sergeant
Sergeant / Detective
Senior Constable level 2
Senior Constable level 1
Constable (classes 1 to 5, sworn officer)
Auxiliary (un-sworn-officer)
Insignia
c
No insignia
No insignia
Slip-on
Slip-on
Slip-on
Slip-on
Arm patch
Arm patch
Arm patch
Arm patch
Arm patch
Divisions
Members of the mounted unit of the Calgary Police Service on duty at Olympic Plaza
The CPS is divided into the following sections:
Administration
Chief Crowfoot Learning Centre
Community and youth services
Community liaison
Criminal operations
Finance
Fleet and facilities
Human resources
Information communication technology section
Investigation support
Major crimes
Operations audit
Organized crime control
Professional standards
Real time operations centre (RTOC)
Support
Traffic services
Equipment
This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (October 2023)
CPS officers on foot patrol
Vehicles
2020 Ford Police Interceptor UtilityCPS Ford police interceptor utilityCPS Ford police interceptor sedan
Most vehicles used by the Calgary Police Service are imported from the United States and use the black and white colour scheme common of police vehicles in the United States, due to the increased recognition of this color scheme as used by police.
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