Quote:y: Royson James Toronto Politics, Published on Thu Feb 11 2016

He never was one of the guys — the back-slapping, beer-drinking cop’s cop who defended the Thin Blue Line against all intruders.

In 27 years he rose up the ranks of the Toronto Police Service to within sniffing distance of the top job. And then the boys slapped him down.

Pure internal police and city hall politics conspired to keep Peter Sloly from becoming Toronto’s 20th chief of police last spring.

He was too smart, too progressive for his own good. He dared to tell his colleagues he wanted them to reform policing, and he paid the price. His departure on Wednesday is Toronto’s great loss.

“Off the record, they *&%$^ this guy,” said one police observer familiar with the police board and police headquarters. “They stole the job from him; and he had no other choice but to leave,” the source said.

Sloly left the deputy chief job he’s held for nine years. Speculation is he is pursuing a job abroad — Saudi Arabia is one destination mentioned. Sloly told reporters he has turned down several job offers in policing.

His departure closes a chapter in Toronto policing that could be titled “What Might Have Been.”

When Sloly told a small group of youths last month that Toronto’s policing model is broken and needed total reform, he was repeating what he’s said repeatedly for years. Predictably, the police union objected strenuously to his recent statements — as they have before — and asked the police board to punish him.