Former police chief and author prefers ‘catalyst’ over ‘genuine hero’

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This article was published 05/02/2025 (338 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Devon Clunis has a dream.

The former Winnipeg police chief envisions a better future in which people embrace compassion and inclusivity. His thoughts on how to achieve that, and live with purpose and conviction are detailed in One: A Story of Hope in Our Time — a timely memoir with an even more timely call to action.

Each chapter ends with questions that encourage readers to reflect on their own perceptions to further understanding and unity.

“I know people are looking for a catalyst to help lead this change, so I am very optimistic in this city — I believe that we can lead the way. We’re the epicentre of North America. Let it start here at the heart and then flow out,” says Clunis, taking a break from signing copies of his autobiography at an event celebrating its launch at the Met on Saturday.

It starts, he says, by having meaningful conversations like those at the launch, held on the first day of Black History Month — an intentionally significant choice for Canada’s first Black chief of police.

Dressed in a navy suit and crisp white collared shirt, Clunis listened to a variety of guest speakers pour praise over him like the rush of water over Dunn’s River Falls in his native Jamaica. As Winnipeg Mayor Scott Gillingham, CJOB’s Richard Cloutier and Rev. James Christie, professor emeritus at the University of Winnipeg, among others spoke, he listened, lowering his head with humility when someone referred to him as a “genuine hero.”

Yet his impact as a leader is enduring and undeniable. Serving as chief from 2012 to 2016, he’s credited with introducing a transformative concept of crime prevention through social development.

His decision to pursue policing, he says, is based on his passion for improving the community. Photos of childhood memories and professional milestones shown on screens at the launch present a clear picture of how the young boy from Harmony Vale, Jamaica, leveraged that passion to help him become one of the most respected figures in the city, and beyond.

He dedicates One to two important people in his life, his mother and his grandmother, and credits his family for instilling resilience in him at a young age.

It’s a characteristic he’s leaned on throughout his life, starting with a difficult move to Winnipeg when he was 12 years old. He had trouble adjusting to a foreign country, failed Grade 6 and was criticized by an elementary school teacher who didn’t see the potential in the child who was a “darker shade of beautiful.”

“When I look back on that, it must have been so hard for that child,” says Clunis, now 61. “I think that little boy would say thank you to the grown man for staying with it.”

The former chief, who’s penned two children’s books, spent nine years writing his memoir, carefully mulling over a life of service, covering chapters dedicated to Hope and Sadness, the Faith Factor, Being First, Stop the Hurting and the George Floyd Effect. The latter, the uprising after the murder of a Black man by a white police officer in 2020, contributed to his decision to share his perspective and experiences.

It couldn’t come at a better time, given the swelling uncertainty and division south of the border.

“I know that what happens in the States colours what happens here, but the message I would like to give to Winnipeg and Canadians is that we have our own unique identity, culturally speaking. I think we need to build on who we are authentically,” explains Clunis, who says he knows better than to say never to entertaining a role in politics. “We have reason to be hopeful; I really believe something great is going to come out of here to shine light.”

One: A Story of Hope in Our Time is available at onestoryofhope.com.

arts@freepress.mb.ca