One of the top figures in American law enforcement commented Tuesday on the rampage in Toronto while attending a conference in Quebec City.
“I wanted to express our condolences to our neighbours to the north, in Toronto and to Canadians in general for what happened,” said FBI deputy director David Bowdich as he began his keynote speech at the FBI National Academy Associates’ national annual training conference, held at the Quebec City Convention Centre.
Appointed to the role in March 2018, Bowdich oversees all FBI domestic and international investigative and intelligence activities.
In his speech, Bowden addressed a number of issues, including the increasing scrutiny the law enforcement agency is under given the current political climate in the U.S.
The FBINAA is a non-profit membership organization for high-ranking police officers from around the world, with a goal of providing and promoting law enforcement leadership through training and networking.
This is only the second time the annual conference has been held in Canada – it was held in Toronto in 2006 – because usually it's held in the States.
There are various workshops and presentations on law enforcement trends and issues.
Retired SQ officer Gilles Martel helped bring the conference to Quebec City.
“We had all kinds of training that went on over the last four days: Prevention of criminality, how to deal with active shooters, different topics, anti-terrorism presentations, so it was very interesting for our delegates to be here,” said Martel.
Nearly 1,000 police officers attended this year's conference.
