LPS chief awarded for focus on mental health, well-being of officers, families

Lethbridge’s top cop has been awarded for his commitment to prioritize the mental health and well-being of police officers in the city.

The Canadian Mental Health Association, Alberta South Region, gave Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh the 2025 Workplace Wellness Award.

The association says the award recognizes and celebrates those in the community who are setting a standard for organizational wellness by prioritizing employee mental health and well-being.

Mehdizadeh was named this year’s award winner after he and his team implemented a holistic, community-centric model of policing with a focus on the mental health of Lethbridge Police Service officers and their families.

“It’s an extremely important element of our promise to our employees, and I’m very proud to see how our employees have responded to that,” said Mehdizadeh.

“As a result, I truly believe we are providing a much better service to our community.”

“It’s important for us to hold space, at least once a year but hopefully way more often than that, to improve well-being as well and to recognize the positive steps and changes that we’re taking,” said David Gabert with the Canadian Mental Health Association, Alberta South Region.

“We have a long way to go for mental wellness, but we want to acknowledge the incredible steps that are happening along the way to get there.”

Along with more supports, the Lethbridge Police Service also recently hired a wellness specialist dedicated to improving the well-being of all staff and frontline officers.