More than 100 police officers in Edmonton publicly rallied around their fired chief, who added his voice to a growing call for a public inquiry into what has become a big mess.

"I am fully supportive of an independent public review of the whole issue so all sides can be heard," Fred Rayner said outside Edmonton Police Service headquarters Wednesday.

Rayner's termination was announced late Tuesday night. He had gone on extended medical leave Monday.

The case has its beginnings in a Nov. 18 attempt to catch Edmonton Sun newspaper columnist Kerry Diotte and Martin Ignasiak, the chairman of the Edmonton Police Commission, driving while impaired.

But a commission spokesman wondered if the Wednesday demonstration was a sign of even stormier times to come in the relationship between the service and the civilian body that oversees it.

"If it was simply a goodbye, I would say no,'' commission spokesman John Brosseau told The Canadian Press.

"But if it was defiant, it would be an indication of a bit of a problem that we've had for some time, in that some members of the police service do not accept the concept of civilian oversight.

"To put it very bluntly, to some of them the police commission is a nuisance.''

To some officers, the commission has been itching to fire Rayner, who only won the job by a 5-4 vote in May 2004.

"Those who did not vote for Fred were extremely upset, and particularly the chair," Ron Kuban, a former commissioner and Rayner supporter, told CFRN News.

One of those opposed was reportedly Ignasiak.

But while the commission didn't give specific reasons for terminating Rayner, it appears an early statement of his was contradicted by some transcript evidence linked to the Edmonton Journal newspaper.

Rayner claimed on Feb. 3 that the stakeout resulted from a tip that Diotte -- who had written articles critical of the police -- would be driving after drinking heavily.

But the transcripts showed the "tip" came from a dubious source, and that the individual officers involved were trying to figure out a way to cover up that they had spotter officers inside the bar.

They were also recorded making disparaging remarks about Diotte. Unfortunately for them, an Edmonton Sun reporter heard their exchanges over a police scanner radio.

Before the stakeout, both men's names had been run through the police databases.

When Harvey Cenaiko, the province's solicitor-general and a former police officer, heard about this, he blasted those involved. He also said he might change his mind about the need for an inquiry, something he had previously felt wasn't needed.

"The chief comes out and says one thing. It comes out in the paper as another. You caught him in a lie, right?" Edmontonian Tom Irwin told CFRN.

The commission reportedly has a new chief ready to go. Edmonton's city council is to meet Thursday to consider ratifying the hire.

The candidate hasn't been named yet, but there is speculation it is former deputy chief Dave Cassels, the man who came second to Rayner last May. Cassels, a native Edmontonian now working for the RCMP in Kelowna, B.C., wouldn't comment to CFRN.

Whoever the new candidate is, some city councillors were saying the position should be filled through an open competition.

With a report from CFRN's Dan Kobe and files from The Canadian Press