Two members of Edmonton city council have now called police chief Warren Driechel’s trip to Israel a move that has damaged relationships with marginalized communities. Mayor Andrew Knack said he has asked the Edmonton Police Commission to review how travel policy is currently decided. “At a time of rising Islamophobia, anti-Palestinian racism, anti-Semitism, and hate towards marginalized communities, the choice to make this trip is harmful and further alienates members of our community,” he wrote in a Friday evening statement to social media. Ward Anirniq Coun. Erin Rutherford also released a statement Friday, saying the move undermines an “essential social contract” between law enforcement and Edmontonians. News broke earlier this week of Driechel joining a delegation of major city officers to Israel in February. The commission chair as well as the Edmonton Police Service (EPS) called the trip an educational opportunity. Soon after, Palestinian communities and mosques around the city denounced the trip and called for Driechel’s resignation. “Hearing the news this week about the chief’s trip, in and of itself, didn’t prompt (my statement),” Rutherford told CTV News Edmonton. “But seeing some of the coverage and the responses from the commission and the chief, as well as hearing directly from community members that I represent that have been affected and harmed by this decision.” Rutherford’s statement noted that she’s aware of external groups who have called concerned Edmontonians “extremists.” “I think some of the community members that have worked really hard to build bridges with Edmonton Police Services to build trust feel like, in a way, that their validity as members of the community has been upended,” she said. “My hope, and what I’m calling for is … making sure that both the commission and our chief of police are listening and being humble in understanding that if somebody says this has caused harm, we need to listen, and we need to understand why.” CTV News Edmonton reached out to Driechel for comment on Wednesday but was told he would not be available for an interview this week. With files from CTV News Edmonton’s Connor Hogg
