Jamie Graham will report to his office for the last time on Monday (August 13), nine days short of completing his five-year contract as Vancouver police chief. It will be the end of a controversy-filled stint with the police department.

Last year, about a month after Sullivan launched his Civil City pet project, Graham was asked by the Georgia Straight for his views on the public-order program. "There are several things in there that we've been doing for some time already," he responded. "I mean, a lot of this is old news."

In mid-2006, Sullivan asked the office of the police complaint commissioner for advice after Graham left a bullet-riddled target-practice sheet on the desk of city manager Judy Rogers. The chief wrote on the sheet: "A bad day at the range is better than the best day at work."

Police complaint commissioner Dirk Ryneveld chose not to investigate Graham. But in another case, Ryneveld went to the extent of overturning a May 14, 2007, decision by Sullivan: the mayor, as chair of the Vancouver police board, had dismissed a complaint against Graham. The case involved the Pivot Legal Society's claim that Graham had obstructed an RCMP investigation into a Pivot report on police abuses in the Downtown Eastside. At that time, the chief had already announced his intention to retire and not seek an extension of his contract. Graham will remain under investigation into his retirement.

During the 2005 mayoral race, Graham asked the RCMP to determine whether or not they should conduct a criminal investigation of Sullivan for giving money for drugs years earlier to an addict, who subsequently consumed the drugs in his presence. Sullivan was never charged.

According to a spokesperson for Sullivan, incoming chief Jim Chu will assume command on Tuesday (August 14).

"My understanding is his [Graham's] last day is the 13th of August," David Hurford told the Straight. "The new chief constable is appointed by the board effective August 14. There'll be some sort of a more formal ceremony to follow that. It will be sometime in September."

Vancouver lawyer Cameron Ward told the Straight that he hopes Chu will institute reforms within the department.

"I would like to see him strengthen departmental training and instill a new attitude within the force that fully respects civil liberties, especially those of disadvantaged and marginalized persons," Ward said. "It goes without saying that all people should be treated equally by the police, but that fundamental principle was frequently overlooked during chief Graham's tenure."