Peter John Michael Sloly (born 5 August 1966) is a Canadian former police officer who served as the chief of police for the

Ottawa Police Service The Ottawa Police Service (OPS; French: ''Service de police d'Ottawa'') is a municipal police force in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. The OPS serves an area of 2,790 square kilometres and 1,017,449 (2021 census) people alongside several other police ...

(OPS) from 2019 to 2022. Before joining the OPS, Sloly was a member of the

Toronto Police Service The Toronto Police Service (TPS) is a municipal police force in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, and the primary agency responsible for providing law enforcement and policing services in Toronto. Established in 1834, it was the first local police ser ...

(TPS) for 27 years, including as a deputy chief of police from 2009 to 2016. Prior to his police career, Sloly played soccer professionally, and made an appearance for the Canada men's national team in a 1984 friendly against Egypt.

Early, personal life and education

Sloly was born in Kingston, Jamaica and moved to

Scarborough Scarborough or Scarboro may refer to: People * Scarborough (surname) * Earl of Scarbrough Places Australia * Scarborough, Western Australia, suburb of Perth * Scarborough, New South Wales, suburb of Wollongong * Scarborough, Queensland, su ...

at the age of ten. He has a wife and two children, a daughter and son. He graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four year ...

degree in Sociology from

McMaster University McMaster University (McMaster or Mac) is a public research university in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. The main McMaster campus is on of land near the residential neighbourhoods of Ainslie Wood and Westdale, adjacent to the Royal Botanical Ga ...

in 1989 and a

Master of Business Administration A Master of Business Administration (MBA; also Master's in Business Administration) is a postgraduate degree focused on business administration. The core courses in an MBA program cover various areas of business administration such as accoun ...

from

York York is a cathedral city with Roman origins, sited at the confluence of the rivers Ouse and Foss in North Yorkshire, England. It is the historic county town of Yorkshire. The city has many historic buildings and other structures, such as a ...

University's

Schulich School of Business The Schulich School of Business is the business school of York University located in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The institution provides undergraduate and graduate degree and diploma programs in business administration, finance, accounting, busine ...

in 2004. Sloly also earned a Criminal Justice Certificate from the

University of Virginia The University of Virginia (UVA) is a public research university in Charlottesville, Virginia. Founded in 1819 by Thomas Jefferson, the university is ranked among the top academic institutions in the United States, with highly selective ad ...

, an Incident Command System Certification from the Justice Institute of British Columbia, the Major City Chief's Police Executive Development Program,

University of Toronto The University of Toronto (UToronto or U of T) is a public university, public research university in Toronto, Ontario, Canada, located on the grounds that surround Queen's Park (Toronto), Queen's Park. It was founded by royal charter in 1827 ...

's Rotman Police Executive Leadership Program and is a graduate of the

FBI National Academy The FBI National Academy is a program of the FBI Academy for active U.S. law enforcement personnel and also for international law enforcement personnel who seek to enhance their credentials in their field and to raise law enforcement standards, kno ...

Soccer career

He is also a former soccer player who earned one

cap A cap is a flat headgear, usually with a visor. Caps have crowns that fit very close to the head. They made their first appearance as early as 3200 BC. Caps typically have a visor, or no brim at all. They are popular in casual and informal se ...

for the Canadian national side against

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Medit ...

in a friendly match on 2 November 1984. He also played with the

Canada men's national under-20 soccer team The Canada U-20 men's national soccer team (also known as Canada Under-20s or Canada U-20s) represents Canada in international soccer at this age level. They are overseen by the Canadian Soccer Association, the governing body for soccer in Canad ...

in the

1985 FIFA World Youth Championship The year 1985 was designated as the International Youth Year by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 ** The Internet's Domain Name System is created. ** Greenland withdraws from the European Economic Community as a result of a ...

. In 1986, he played in the National Soccer League with Toronto Blizzard. In 1987, he played for

North York Rockets The North York Rockets were a professional soccer team based in North York, Toronto, Ontario that competed in the original Canadian Soccer League. They were one of four teams to participate in every season of the CSL. Upon the demise of the CSL, ...

in the Canadian Soccer League. In 2011, he was the recipient of the

Canadian Soccer Hall of Fame The Canada Soccer Hall of Fame honours people and institutions for their contributions to Canadian soccer. It was founded in 1997 by the Ontario Soccer Association and was originally located in Vaughan, Ontario. As of 2019, the Canada Soccer Ha ...

's Brian Budd Award for leadership on and off the field.

Police career

Toronto Police Service

After retiring as a soccer player, Sloly joined the Toronto Police Service in 1988, where he served for 27 years. In 2001 and 2002, Sloly served two tours in the

United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) is the officially mandated mission of the United Nations in Kosovo. The UNMIK describes its mandate as being to "help the United Nations Security Council achieve an overall ...

(UNMIK) as a Command Staff Officer and the Canadian Contingent Commander. He was named deputy chief for Divisional Policing Command and Operational Support Command on 22 September 2009. At age 43, he was the youngest deputy chief in the history of the Toronto Police Service. In 2015, he was a candidate to succeed outgoing police chief Bill Blair, but was passed over in favour of Mark Saunders, who was seen as more popular with members of the service. In January 2016, Sloly gave a speech criticizing the size of the police budget as excessive, in which he said: "Until policing stops being focused and driven on that reactive enforcement model, it will continue to be exponentially costly." His comments were criticized by the

Toronto Police Association The Toronto Police Association (TPA), founded in 1944, is a labour organization representing the approximately 5,500 uniformed and 2,500 civilian members of the Toronto Police Service in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. While police officers in Ontari ...

, who also filed a formal complaint, and were viewed as a criticism of Chief Saunders. On 10 February 2016 it was announced that Sloly had resigned as deputy chief and that he had approached the

Toronto Police Services Board The Toronto Police Services Board (TPSB) is the civilian police board that governs the Toronto Police Service (TPS). The board is responsible for approving the annual police budget, defining objectives and policies for TPS, and hiring Toronto's p ...

several months prior with a request that he be released from his contract, which was to have ended in December 2017. The head of the Toronto Police Association celebrated Sloly's departure. During his time in Toronto, Sloly developed a reputation as a progressive reformer reluctant to use harsher policing tactics.

Consulting

On 28 April 2016 Sloly was hired by

Deloitte Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu Limited (), commonly referred to as Deloitte, is an international professional services network headquartered in London, England. Deloitte is the largest professional services network by revenue and number of professio ...

Canada to serve as a consultant handling risk and forensic practices projects.

Ottawa Police Service

In August 2019, it was announced that he would become Chief of the

, effective 28 October 2019. A video emerged of an Ottawa police officer pulling over a Black man and accusing him of having expired plates in September 2020, resulting in public criticism of the Ottawa Police Service. The man filmed the encounter, including when he and the officer went over to the licence plate, revealing that it was in fact valid. The man accused the officer of racism, and both the officer and the Ottawa Police Service apologized. In response, Sloly directed every member of the Ottawa police to complete trainings on conscious and

unconscious bias In social identity theory, an implicit bias or implicit stereotype, is the pre-reflective attribution of particular qualities by an individual to a member of some social out group. Implicit stereotypes are thought to be shaped by experience and b ...

, anti-Black racism and

racial profiling Racial profiling or ethnic profiling is the act of suspecting, targeting or discriminating against a person on the basis of their ethnicity, religion or nationality, rather than on individual suspicion or available evidence. Racial profiling involv ...

. In June 2021, Sloly, in a personal capacity, sought $150,000 in damages from ''Ottawa Life Magazine'' for alleged defamation over a story in the publication's 10 March 2021 edition, which criticized his handling of misogyny within the force after women came forward with sexual harassment and sexual assault claims after a Deputy Chief was internally charged with harassment. It alleged that Sloly planned to only reveal the names of officers found guilty of misconduct against women in the force if their actions also impacted women outside the force. Sloly denied the allegations as false and malicious, and said that if he won his lawsuit, he would donate the earnings to the local Boys and Girls Club. In August 2021, ''Ottawa Life Magazine'''s lawyer, Mark Bourrie, said that the magazine would seek to have the suit dismissed under Ontario's strategic lawsuit against public participation law. In 2022, the OPS and Sloly faced criticism for their handling of the Canada convoy protest, where thousands of protestors

occupied ' (Norwegian: ') is a Norwegian political thriller TV series that premiered on TV2 on 5 October 2015. Based on an original idea by Jo Nesbø, the series is co-created with Karianne Lund and Erik Skjoldbjærg. Season 2 premiered on 10 October ...

much of

downtown Ottawa Downtown Ottawa is the central area of Ottawa, Ontario, Canada. It is sometimes referred to as the Central Business District and contains Ottawa's financial district. It is bordered by the Ottawa River to the north, the Rideau Canal to the east, ...

, resulting in the desecration of monuments, street and business closures, as well as intimidation and harassment of residents. Sloly resigned on 15 February 2022, following weeks of criticism for his handling of the protests. His OPS contract was due to end in 2024, and he was paid the remainder of contract in full. Sloly has been described as a scapegoat for the situation, by Ottawa Councillor

Catherine McKenney Catherine McKenney (born June 3, 1961) is a Canadian politician who served on Ottawa City Council from 2014 to 2022, representing Somerset Ward. McKenny did not seek re-election as councillor in the 2022 Ottawa election, instead running for ma ...

, noting various key city staff that did not offer support during the occupation.

Honours

* Officer of the

Order of Merit of the Police Forces The Order of Merit of the Police Forces (french: Ordre du mérite des corps policiers) is an honour for merit that is, within the Canadian system of honours, the only such fellowship reserved for only members of Canada's various police forces. Cr ...

Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal The Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal (french: Médaille du jubilé de diamant de la reine Elizabeth II) or The Queen's Diamond Jubilee Medal was a commemorative medal created in 2012 to mark the 60th anniversary of Queen Elizabeth II's ...

Police Exemplary Service Medal The Police Exemplary Service Medal (french: Médaille de la police pour services distingués) is a Canadian service medal for police officers. The medal honours 20 years of full-time exemplary service by police officers serving with one or more r ...

United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...

& Canadian Peacekeeping Medals —

UNMIK The United Nations Interim Administration Mission in Kosovo (UNMIK) is the officially mandated mission of the United Nations in Kosovo. The UNMIK describes its mandate as being to "help the United Nations Security Council achieve an overall ...

Kosovo

References

External links

* *
The Governor General of Canada > Honours > Find a Recipient > Peter Sloly

Peter Sloly's biography at Toronto Police Service
{{DEFAULTSORT:Sloly, Peter J. 1966 births Living people Toronto police officers Canadian soccer players Canada men's international soccer players Jamaican emigrants to Canada Canadian police officers Canada men's youth international soccer players Toronto Blizzard (1986–1993) players North York Rockets players Canadian National Soccer League players Canadian Soccer League (1987–1992) players Sportspeople from Scarborough, Toronto McMaster University alumni York University alumni Sportspeople from Kingston, Jamaica Deloitte people Black Canadian soccer players Association football defenders Ottawa police chiefs Canada convoy protest