Two high-ranking female officers with the Toronto Police Service will be leaving the department for new opportunities, the Toronto Police Services Board confirmed Tuesday.
In a statement, the board said two deputy chiefs, Barbara McLean and Shawna Coxon, who are two of the highest ranking female officers in the police service, are leaving their positions for new jobs.
McLean, the board said, has been seconded to work as the director for the Mass Casualty Commission, a joint federal and provincial inquiry into the deadly mass shooting in Nova Scotia in April of last year.
The board confirmed that Coxon is headed overseas to work as the deputy commissioner for Ireland’s national police and security service, where she is expected to "lead the organization’s modernization initiative."
"Both of these inspiring senior leaders have played critical roles in the modernization of the service, driving change, shifting culture and mentoring others within our organization to achieve excellence, " Toronto Police Services Board Chair Jim Hart said in a written statement.
"The impact of their important work has been extraordinary and will continue, as the service moves forward with its modernization and police reform agenda.”
Both Coxon and McLean were appointed to the roles of deputy chief in 2017 along with Deputy Peter Yuen, who has been tasked with taking over the Communities & Neighbourhoods Command pillar in the wake of McLean's departure.
Coxon’s last day has not yet been announced but the board says more information is forthcoming about who will look after her responsibilities overseeing the Human Resources Command pillar.
