OTTAWA — The head of the police union says it’s disappointing that the mayor would suggest police officers unhappy with the leadership of the chief can find work elsewhere.

Mayor Jim Watson made the comments to reporters, Thursday, as he again defended the police chief against a wave of criticism.

“Anyone who isn’t happy with their job, they can leave and stop accepting a paycheque,” said Watson. “If they’re that outraged in principle, then they have every right — they’re not being handcuffed to a desk — they can leave and work elsewhere.”

Watson says, in his opinion, the police chief is doing a great job.

“It’s disappointing — and a little concerning, obviously, when you think about it from a community perspective,” Matt Skof, president, Ottawa Police Association told The Carol Anne Meehan Show on 1310 NEWS. “Somebody of incredible influence suggesting that our officers resign…even if it’s just restricted to senior officers, the implications on the community would be quite substantial.”

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Skof denies that he’s been pushing for Chief Charles Bordeleau to be replaced, and says he’s not sure where that idea keeps coming from

“We’ve been expressing, simply, our members’ perspective…we do not have a transparent oversight system,” Skof said.

Chief Charles Bordeleau has been under fire for several weeks — most recently over his decision to waive investigation into misconduct allegations against a senior police officer.

Earlier, the police union criticized a probe that cleared Bordeleau of any wrongdoing in an incident involving the prosecution of his father-in-law’s traffic ticket.

Bordeleau remains under investigation into whether he misled the police services board over privatization of security services at the Elgin Street courthouse.

Skof says he wants the same oversight processes for rank-and-file police officers to be applied to the police service’s senior leadership.

— with files from Kimberley Molina