There will be a fresh new face joining the Nelson Police Department as Superintendent Donovan Fisher has been appointed as Chief Constable following the retirement of current Chief Paul Burkart.
“Superintendent Fisher is a highly experienced and accomplished leader known for building strong relationships,” said John Dooley, Chair of the Nelson Police Board and Nelson Mayor. “The Police Board looks forward to welcoming Superintendent Fisher and working with him in this role leading and serving our community.”
Fisher first joined the RCMP in 1995 where he was posted to Wainwright, Alberta in part of the K-Divison before getting transferred to Gleichen/Siksika First Nations Detachment in 2000.
In 2004, Fisher joined the Integrated Response to Organized Crime (IROC) which is made up of members from the RCMP, Calgary and Edmonton Police Services. He held that role until 2007 before returning to contract policing as a Detachment Commander in southeast Alberta.
Three years later Superintendent Fisher transferred back to Calgary to the Financial Integrity program. He worked his way up to the Commercial Crime unit and eventually became the Officer in Charge (OIC) of the International Anti-Corruption Unit (IACU).
In 2013 Fisher had the opportunity to represent the RCMP and Canada’s anti-corruption initiatives in giving the opening presentation at the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OCED) conference in Paris, France.
His job took him to another province as in 2014 he joined the F Division in Saskatchewan and became the OIC of the Integrated Organized Crime North unit. This included integrated investigative units and undercover streets teams that consisted of RCMP members and members of the Saskatoon and Prince Albert Police Services.
After three years Fisher then became the OIC of Federal Operations and National Security for F Divison which means he oversaw the provinces National Security Enforcement Section, the Serious and Organized Crime units, and the Integrated Border Enforcement Team.
The promotion to the rank of Superintendent came to Fisher in 2018 while he was working in his current role as the District Commander for Central District Saskatchewan.
“I am very excited and honoured to join the Nelson Police Department as their new Cheif Constable and I am looking forward to working alongside the exemplary women and men of this department and to serving the citizens of Nelson,” said Superintendent Donovan Fisher. “My goal is to have a positive impact on the community of Nelson and increase overall public satisfaction by working closely with leaders and social agencies to move joint initiatives forward in a timely and effective manner.”
