The search is on for a new Orillia OPP detachment commander.
Veronica Eaton has been promoted from inspector to superintendent and is now at OPP General Headquarters, where she is director of provincial traffic operations with the Highway Safety Division. She is taking over for former superintendent Chris Gilpin, who has retired.
She oversees deployed traffic teams in the province and manages specialty patrol operations, including ATV, bicycle and snowmobile units.
Her experience should serve her well in her new role, as she had previously patrolled in all of those areas and more.
“Traffic safety and all its different avenues have always been of interest to me,” she said. “Saving lives in any manner has always been important to me.”
Eaton will also oversee the collision reconstruction, drug recognition and breath technician programs.
“I’m hoping to move the bar forward in traffic safety in the province,” she said, adding the ultimate goal is to see a decrease in the number of collisions and fatalities.
Eaton joined Orillia OPP as a platoon sergeant in May 2009. She left in 2013 to work in the deputy commissioner’s office. In September 2017, she returned to Orillia OPP as detachment commander.
“I’m going to miss the people,” she said. “The members of Orillia detachment are truly second to none. Their commitment to the community is like nothing I’ve ever seen before.”
She described the promotion as “bittersweet” because she is no longer working at the detachment but is excited about her new journey at headquarters.
“I’ve made some really good friends,” she said. “Walking out that last day was tough for me.”
Two of the main highlights for Eaton during her time at the detachment came relatively recently. One was seeing the closure of the detachment building on Peter Street on Nov. 25, 2020, and the opening of the new location on University Avenue.
“That was a big project, but it seems to have worked out very well,” she said. “The members love it.”
She was also proud to see the expansion of the Crisis Outreach and Support Team, a partnership between Orillia OPP and the Canadian Mental Health Association.
“I’m happy to see the success that it’s having and the people they're helping in the community,” she said.
Insp. Jason Nickle is the interim detachment commander with Orillia OPP until the permanent position is filled.
