For a week, Edmonton Police Cheif Warren Driechel said nothing regarding his trip to Isreal.
Edmonton Mayor Andrew Knack called him out publicly. Dozens of mosques and Palestinian community groups signed an open letter demanding answers. Two city councillors sided with the mayor. The police commission quietly agreed to review its own travel policies. Through all of it, the Edmonton police chief stayed silent.
On Tuesday, that changed.
Driechel posted a statement to the Edmonton Police Service’s X account defending his February trip to Israel, rejecting the idea that community groups should have a say in where he travels for professional development, and making clear he has no plans to walk anything back. “I stand by my decision to take the trip to Israel and continue to view it as valuable, among multiple learning experiences I will have in this role,” he wrote.
What He’s Actually Saying
In his statement, Driechel framed the Israel visit as a professional development trip, organized through the Major Cities Chiefs Association and focused on policing in “complex environments.” He highlighted meetings with police and community leaders from Jewish, Christian, Muslim and Druze backgrounds, and stressed conversations about trauma, trust and the mental toll of the job.
But the way he chose to address the controversy said as much as the itinerary. Rather than acknowledging why the trip to Israel, in this moment, might feel like a slap in the face to parts of Edmonton, he pushed back at the idea that community groups should have any say in where a police chief goes to “learn.” In his words, “any community group” trying to influence that is overstepping, because “as police we focus on behavior, not beliefs.”
What’s missing is almost as important as what’s in the statement. There is no apology, no recognition that the choice itself deepened an existing trust gap, and no direct mention of Knack, the open letter, or calls for his resignation. For critics who had spent a week explaining why the trip felt like a betrayal, the message was clear: he heard the anger, and is choosing not to bend to it.
How We Got Here
Driechel travelled to Israel in mid-February. The Major Cities Chiefs Association covered the costs not Edmonton taxpayers. Police commission chair Ben Henderson approved it under the terms of Driechel’s contract. For weeks, nothing was said publicly.
When it came out, it moved fast. Dozens of local mosques and Palestinian community groups signed a letter demanding Driechel either explain himself or resign. By Friday, Mayor Knack was calling himself “deeply disappointed and frustrated” not just with the chief, but with Henderson for signing off on it.
“For many Edmontonians, the violence in the West Bank and Gaza is not distant,” Knack said. “Decisions like these cause real hurt, damage relationships with communities that already feel marginalized, and break trust.”
Councillors Erin Rutherford and Ashley Salvador backed him. Councillor Michael Janz pushed back, pointing out that Knack himself had recently travelled to China, a country whose treatment of Muslim minorities Canada’s House of Commons has characterized as genocide, and questioning how council differentiates between international partners.
The Jewish Federation of Edmonton also defended the trip, arguing the educational purpose was legitimate and that the criticism risked providing cover for antisemitism.
Where It Lands
Driechel’s statement is the most important thing he’s said since this started which, given that he said nothing for a week, isn’t a high bar. But the substance matters. He’s drawing a clear line: professional learning is his call, not the community’s, and a week of political pressure hasn’t changed that.
The police commission’s travel policy review is still ongoing with no timeline attached. Knack has not responded publicly to the chief’s statement. The community rally that had been planned for the weekend already happened.
What comes next is unclear. What is clear is that Driechel isn’t interested in a public apology tour. Whether that posture holds and whether the commission backs him when the policy review wraps up is the next thing worth watching.
Sources
Mayor Andrew Knack’s public statement on the police chief’s trip (social posts and interviews).
Edmonton Police Service / Chief Warren Driechel statement defending the Israel trip.
Coverage of council reaction, open letter from community groups, and police commission respons
