Chief Berrigan set to retire

George Berrigan will be retiring after spending the last five years as chief of the North Bay Police Service.

An item on the agenda for next week police services board meeting simply states "Resignation of Chief G. Berrigan," but sources within the service said Berrigan will actually be retiring, rather than resigning, effective April.

Berrigan, who joined the service in 1974, also worked for the Metropolitan Toronto Police Service, and took over the reigns in North Bay from former chief Ron Nagle in 1999.
He had been deputy chief for three years prior to that.

“George Berrigan is a police board chairman’s dream and he was a true joy to work with,” said former police services board chairman Colin Vezina.

“George is a professional with a capital P, and has always been a credit to the police service.”

Vezina was chairman of the board when Berrigan was appointed chief.

“He had demonstrated his potential when he was deputy chief under Ron Nagle, and it became obvious he had the many and varied qualifications needed to be a good chief.”

Berrigan, 53, could not be reached for comment at publication time, but is expected to make a public statement soon about his retirement.