The man tapped to become Ottawa's first black police chief says he wants people to judge him on what he does, not what he looks like.

"I'm quite sure some people will judge me on my skin colour," said Peter Sloly at the official announcement of his appointment at Ottawa City Hall on Monday. "But I'm actually quite sure most people will judge me on my character and my actions."

Sloly, 53, will be formally sworn in as chief in October. His tenure begins during a period of intense scrutiny over the service, which is struggling with low morale, budget constraints and a strained relationship with both the police union and the city's racialized communities.

"I believe that my lived experience will give me some advantages," said Sloly, a former deputy chief with the Toronto Police Service. "And I believe that what I've gone through, succeeded in and struggled in — and occasionally failed in — will allow me to bring a sense of wisdom and compassion to very difficult circumstances."

Peter Sloly, Ottawa's next chief of police, says he wants people to judge him on what he does, not what he looks like. 1:33

Racial tensions

Racial tension has been a dominant challenge for the Ottawa police since the fatal arrest of Abdirahman Abdi in the summer of 2016. Internally, there have also been several human rights complaints brought forth by officers of colour.

The force has also struggled to hire women, and to promote non-white officers to top positions.

The police service also came under fire for cutting back on community policing when it restructured two years.

Sloly said he's committed to community policing and crime prevention, and said he's keenly aware of the intense scrutiny under which the police force finds itself.

"Police are the most visible form of a functioning democracy, and so more than any other sector and any other agency, policing has to get it right. They also have the biggest lens on them, so when there is a misstep or a mistake or misinterpretation, the impacts of that are significantly greater than any other place," Sloly said.

"That's a huge burden to place on front-line officers and service members. It's a huge challenge for the community to accept anything less than the best, and in some cases anything less than perfect, so I don't take that challenge lightly, and I commit myself to that fully."

Peter Sloly, centre, is flanked by members of Ottawa's Jamaican community after being announced as the capital's next police chief. Sloly was born in Jamaica in 1966. He immigrated to Canada with his parents in 1976.

Tapping critics

At the same time, he's challenging the force's critics to work with police to help improve their own communities.

"I'll tap on those folks on their willingness to stand up and step forward and engage."

There's no doubt Sloly arrives at a tumultuous time. The head of the Ottawa Police Association is suing the former chief, and morale among the rank and file is considered to be at a low ebb.

When asked how he plans to improve the relationship between the executive command and the police union, Sloly said he's already had positive meetings with officers of all ranks.

"They've told me they would like morale to improve," said Sloly, who added he plans to pay visits to officers on all units and all shifts, and to generally make himself available to them.

Ewart Walters, a member of local advocacy group Black Agenda Noir, says Peter Sloly being black is not what qualifies him to be the new chief of the Ottawa Police Service. 0:51

Apologized for lack of French

At his introductory news conference, where Sloly took questions from the media and the public for nearly an hour, he apologized for not being bilingual.

"The board is going to put me in [French] school right away, and I'll be studying hard at it," he said. "I do apologize. It's a regret, coming here and not being fluent in French."

Former chief Charles Bordeleau was bilingual, but Bordeleau's predecessor, Vern White, did not speak French when he was hired in 2007.

Peter Sloly sits beside Coun. Diane Deans, chair of Ottawa's police services board.

Sloly revealed Monday that this was the second time he applied for the chief's job in Ottawa, admitting he failed to make the short list when White was hired. In an email Monday, Coun. Diane Deans, who chairs the police services board, confirmed Sloly had beat out 18 other applicants for the chief's job.

Much has changed since the last time he applied for the job: Sloly is now a married father of two children. After resigning from the Toronto police force in 2016, he worked in the private sector as a security consultant with Deloitte.

Before ascending to the deputy chief position in Toronto, Sloly served on two United Nations peacekeeping missions in Kosovo. Sloly also has a master's degree in business administration and graduated from the FBI academy.

"I'm proud of all the things that make me who I am. I am proud to be Canadian, and I hope I'll make you proud as chief of police here in Ottawa," he said Monday.