The long-standing head of the Toronto Police Services Board has been re-appointed as chair of the civilian oversight body.
Alok Mukherjee was re-elected Wednesday afternoon, with six of the seven board members, including Mayor John Tory, voting for him to stay on for another year.
"This will be my 10th year … (making) me the second-longest chair of the board," Mukherjee told reporters at police headquarters after the vote. "It's a good sign of the stability of the board."
Mukherjee's re-appointment comes after a turbulent year that included two controversial Facebook posts shared on his now-deleted personal page.
In one of those posts, Mukherjee shared a photo that was originally posted by the activist group Occupy Wall St. The photo compared U.S. police officers with terrorists, and drew sharp criticism from Toronto Police Association president Mike McCormack.
"(He) has crossed the line," McCormack previously said about the post, in a statement calling for Mukherjee's resignation. "His lack of objectivity indicates he is no longer fit to sit on the police oversight body."
On Wednesday, McCormack said the TPA was prepared to work with the civilian oversight body despite Murkherjee re-election because "there are adults on the board that behave in an appropriate way."
In the coming months, the board will discuss a number of important items, including selecting a new police chief and negotiating contract terms with the TPA. The union represents more than 5,000 officers, as well as thousands of civilian workers.
Tory -- who previously expressed concerns about the Facebook posts -- noted that given the big-ticket items on the agenda, he believes Mukherjee is "the right man to lead (the board) forward for another year."
"It was the right thing to do for the Toronto Police Services Board," Tory told reporters after the vote.
Mukherjee served as chair of the board from 2004 to 2006, then was reappointed in 2007 and has led the seven-member board since.
