Calgary city councillors had few details Tuesday on the resignation of Calgary police Chief Mark Neufeld, though they expected more information to come.

Councillors were set to go behind closed doors at the May 6 Public Hearing Meeting of Council to discuss Neufeld’s surprise resignation on May 2.

Neufeld had two years remaining on his contract, and little has been shared about his departure.

Ward 8 Coun. Courtney Walcott, who at one time sat on the Calgary Police Commission (CPC), was somewhat sympathetic to the delay in releasing more.  He was responding to questions on whether Calgarians had a right to know why the police chief abruptly resigned.

“If it’s personal or it’s family, my answer to you is no. If there’s something in his life that has made him step away from this job, then we deserve to give a man who’s dedicated himself to public service the privacy,” Walcott said.

“If it’s related to employment or challenges that commission is working through, then that information will be made public in time.”

Mayor Jyoti Gondek also said they would learn more this afternoon. She has declined to comment on a personnel matter since the announcement was made last week.

Ward 7 Coun. Terry Wong, who currently sits on the CPC, said that fellow commissioners hadn’t had the chance to get together to further discuss the chief’s resignation, nor how they will move forward.

When asked when Calgarians will know more, or if citizens were owed some sort of an explanation, Wong said that you can’t second guess someone’s potential employment choices.

“Chief Neufeld, like anybody else, has the right to make his own determination on his career, as to where it is that he wishes to be employed and how he needs to provide himself,” Wong said.  

“So, we’ll leave that up to the chief to decide in the future what his career directions are.”

CPS is still well prepared for a busy summer ahead: Wong

Coun. Wong said that CPC didn’t have significant advance notice of the resignation, however, they were aware before the announcement was made on May 2.

He knows that citizens are asking questions, particular with the G7 Summit coming to Calgary, the Rotary Convention in June, coupled with the Calgary Stampede in July.

“We’ve been very assured that our executive and the police service are definitely prepared for all those events,” Wong said.

The initial CPC announcement mentioned that there would be no immediate search for a new chief. In the meantime, Katie McLellan will become the new interim chief. There will be a swearing-in ceremony in the coming days, Wong said.

“Any other organization, when you change your leadership, you need to ensure that we understand what the objectives, the priorities are that were given to the chief, is that the same objective party that we passed on to the person will be acting in an interim,” he said.

“It’s difficult for any interim to take on the full load right away and be expected to carry it out, knowing that we’re also in a recruitment mode for looking for something new.”

Wong expected the recruitment process would take some time and wouldn’t be done within three months.

• This story will be updated if more information is received after the closed session meeting.