Peel police will have a new chief effective October, nearly 10 months after top cop Jennifer Evans announced her retirement.

Nishan “Nish” Duraiappah, Halton police’s deputy chief of operations, has been hired after Evans retired Jan. 11, the police board said Friday.

The Peel Regional Police force has been plagued by controversy surrounding a key murder investigation and the issue of carding.

“The community we all serve expects nothing less than the highest degree of duty and integrity,” said board chair Nando Iannicca in a news release. “Duraiappah represents the next generation of leadership for the police service.”

“It’s truly an honour to serve the over 3,000 members of Peel police,” said Duraiappah, who comes into his new role with a 25-year-long career in law enforcement, including stints with the RCMP and specialized units for Halton police.

Evans shocked the police force when she decided to retire earlier this year despite signing an extension to her contract that would keep her on as chief until the fall of 2020. This began a seven-month-long search for her replacement while Deputy Chief Chris McCord stepped into the role in the interim.

Her decision came amidst controversy during her tenure involving the handling of the Harrison family murders investigation and her views on the practice of carding in the region.

Peel cops failed to treat the 2009 death of Bill Harrison or the 2010 death of Bridget Harrison as homicides until their son, Caleb Harrison, was murdered on Aug. 23, 2013.

Evans launched an internal review of the triple family homicide investigation in early 2018. She suspended the review a month later. A week after that, she said it was back on, promising to share findings of the report “where appropriate.”

The Harrison family then called for an independent public inquiry. Evans said she would make findings of Peel police’s internal review public. Dr. Dirk Huyer, Ontario’s chief coroner who also launched a review, said he would do the same.

Findings of that review are yet to be revealed.

An investigation into a complaint made by the Harrison family remains active, the Office of the Independent Police Review Director, which reviews public complaints against police, confirmed to the Star in May.

In 2018, Evans was also under fire after she publicly disagreed with Brampton Mayor Linda Jeffrey about the practice of carding. Evans suggested recent legislation to stop the practice was, in effect, increasing violent crime in the Peel region. This came after she had already rejected a Peel police board decision to suspend the practice until the province made a decision on it in 2015.

“Since the new street check legislation was introduced, it restricted how officers are able to interact with members of the public,” Evans said at the time. “This has empowered criminals, who think officers won’t stop them. They now are more confident that they will get away with carrying guns and knives.”

Duraiappah has “shown a strong commitment to many of the region’s diverse cultural and faith-based communities in his capacity,” a Peel police release announcing his appointment stated.

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“As a team, we look forward to serving this remarkable and diverse community for many years to come,” Duraiappah said in the release.

He will take on his role on Oct. 1, after which interim chief McCord will go back to being deputy chief.

With files from Amy Dempsey and mississauga.com

Temur Durrani is a breaking news reporter, working out of the Star's radio room in Toronto. Follow him on Twitter: @temurdur

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