Bortolin hopes to shake up Windsor Police Services Board with progressive ideas

City council has voted to replace Coun. Jo-Anne Gignac with Coun. Rino Bortolin on the Windsor Police Services Board.

Gignac did put her name forward to keep the role, but council opted to go with a change.

The Investigation 2018 Year End Report was released by the board on March 1.

Bortolin said in the last year, 85 per cent of the calls to police happened within a portion of his ward.

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"Probably half of the things I deal with on a daily basis involve crime, safety and security issues that are tied to the police," he said.

Bortolin is the councillor for Ward 3, which includes the downtown core.

Bortolin said he thinks a lot of the councillors felt like it was time for a change on the board. 

He plans on bringing a new approach when he takes his seat at the next board meeting. Bortolin has concerns about how the opioid epidemic and the homelessness situation is being dealt with in the downtown core.

"I'm hoping to bring some different progressive ideas, community-based policing, things like carrying Naloxone for the officers — that was a contentious issue," he said.

It's about bringing good ideas to the table. If those ideas are met with resistance or if there is a debate to be had, I definitely won't back down- Coun. Rino Bortolin, Ward 3

During his four and a half years on council, he didn't always vote with the mayor, but he said his role on the police services board isn't about being adversarial.

"It's about bringing good ideas to the table," Bortolin said. "If those ideas are met with resistance or if there is a debate to be had, I definitely won't back down."

Bortolin was also asked about how the board handled the 911 call made from inside Police Chief Al Frederick's home. The chief has not released details of what occurred, except to describe it as a personal matter that was a "one-off," but did apologize for the inherent conflict of interest caused when officers had to respond to their chief's home.  

Bortolin said he won't speculate on the matter, but said that "transparency, openness, and showing that confidence in your elected officials, in your higher positions like the chief is important."

The board will also need to choose a new police chief, as Frederick is set to retire.