elderly occupant, came to the door several times to “air out” the premises, but no amount of persuasion could entice him to exit the cabin.
Darkness was now approaching, and the incident was at a stalemate. The vehicles’ headlights were used to light the scene throughout the night. A long, cold vigil in sub-zero temperatures greeted the five frustrated police officers as they guarded the scene. Finally, dawn arrived along with several media personnel from the nearest city, hot on the story of the “Mad Trapper” under siege in the wilds of Alberta. The RCMP members gathered around to determine their next step. Suddenly, the door to the cabin opened and out sauntered the elderly man, headed for the woodpile. Two RCMP officers sprinted toward him. When they confronted him, Andy looked up at the two exhausted policemen and stated, “Am I ever glad to see you guys, somebody has been prowling around my cabin trying to break in!” The policemen looked at each other in amazement.
Two rifles—a .22 calibre and a .300 Savage bolt action—were found inside the cabin, along with ample ammunition. Andy had been lying on his bed with the rifles, firing randomly at any noise he heard. He was declared mentally unfit and spent the rest of his days in a rest home. The daily city newspaper published a photo of the scene with Andy being taken into custody. Some days later, the detachments involved received memos of reprimand from subdivision HQ. Apparently the investigating officers appeared in the news photo without appropriate uniform headgear. No compliments were forthcoming for a job well done. And the lost revolver? It was found in the snow and safely returned to its rightful owner.
----
LAW ENFORCEMENT IN Canada has changed dramatically within a single generation. In 1962, the members of the police community of Willmore gathered one sunny July morning at a restaurant next to the bank on Main Street. Five policemen, including three RCMP members, fully dressed in the uniform of the day, but unarmed, sipped coffee and chatted in the vinyl booths that morning. The two municipal members present were also in uniform, also unarmed. Sidearms were rarely worn during the day, and none were evident. It did not occur to any of them that they would be quite helpless in the event of an armed robbery at the bank next door. If those same police officers were meeting in that same restaurant in 2013, all would be armed with nine millimetre automatic pistols and wearing bulletproof vests. Tasers and tear gas would be readily available on their utility belts, and they would carry personal hand-held police radios. Shotguns and rifles would be immediately accessible in their police cars.
The RCMP resisted tactical uniform changes for some years, but as the number of murdered policemen across Canada increased, so did the demands for more effective protection. There was a period of time during the transition when the RCMP actually forbade members from wearing bulletproof vests that they had purchased on their own. As early as 1975, I was part of a study group at headquarters in Ottawa examining the possibility of adopting an automatic pistol over the standard .38 Special revolver. The resistance to change at that point was insurmountable, as too many senior officers refused to permit the Force to “go the way of American law enforcement.” It took many years for RCMP management to finally realize that the protection of members and a change to more effective armament was imperative.
CHAPTER 5
TEMPORARY POSTINGS, TEMPORARY TRAUMA
DURING MY TIME at Willmore, I served temporarily at two adjacent detachments. Mountain View was located in one of Canada’s national parks, and Mofort was a small rural community north of Willmore. Both were brief tours, but I learned a great deal. Sadly, I also worked under two more detachment commanders suffering from alcoholism.
I arrived in Mountain View during the summer of 1962, and my experience there can only
Darkness was now approaching, and the incident was at a stalemate. The vehicles’ headlights were used to light the scene throughout the night. A long, cold vigil in sub-zero temperatures greeted the five frustrated police officers as they guarded the scene. Finally, dawn arrived along with several media personnel from the nearest city, hot on the story of the “Mad Trapper” under siege in the wilds of Alberta. The RCMP members gathered around to determine their next step. Suddenly, the door to the cabin opened and out sauntered the elderly man, headed for the woodpile. Two RCMP officers sprinted toward him. When they confronted him, Andy looked up at the two exhausted policemen and stated, “Am I ever glad to see you guys, somebody has been prowling around my cabin trying to break in!” The policemen looked at each other in amazement.
Two rifles—a .22 calibre and a .300 Savage bolt action—were found inside the cabin, along with ample ammunition. Andy had been lying on his bed with the rifles, firing randomly at any noise he heard. He was declared mentally unfit and spent the rest of his days in a rest home. The daily city newspaper published a photo of the scene with Andy being taken into custody. Some days later, the detachments involved received memos of reprimand from subdivision HQ. Apparently the investigating officers appeared in the news photo without appropriate uniform headgear. No compliments were forthcoming for a job well done. And the lost revolver? It was found in the snow and safely returned to its rightful owner.
----
LAW ENFORCEMENT IN Canada has changed dramatically within a single generation. In 1962, the members of the police community of Willmore gathered one sunny July morning at a restaurant next to the bank on Main Street. Five policemen, including three RCMP members, fully dressed in the uniform of the day, but unarmed, sipped coffee and chatted in the vinyl booths that morning. The two municipal members present were also in uniform, also unarmed. Sidearms were rarely worn during the day, and none were evident. It did not occur to any of them that they would be quite helpless in the event of an armed robbery at the bank next door. If those same police officers were meeting in that same restaurant in 2013, all would be armed with nine millimetre automatic pistols and wearing bulletproof vests. Tasers and tear gas would be readily available on their utility belts, and they would carry personal hand-held police radios. Shotguns and rifles would be immediately accessible in their police cars.
The RCMP resisted tactical uniform changes for some years, but as the number of murdered policemen across Canada increased, so did the demands for more effective protection. There was a period of time during the transition when the RCMP actually forbade members from wearing bulletproof vests that they had purchased on their own. As early as 1975, I was part of a study group at headquarters in Ottawa examining the possibility of adopting an automatic pistol over the standard .38 Special revolver. The resistance to change at that point was insurmountable, as too many senior officers refused to permit the Force to “go the way of American law enforcement.” It took many years for RCMP management to finally realize that the protection of members and a change to more effective armament was imperative.
CHAPTER 5
TEMPORARY POSTINGS, TEMPORARY TRAUMA
DURING MY TIME at Willmore, I served temporarily at two adjacent detachments. Mountain View was located in one of Canada’s national parks, and Mofort was a small rural community north of Willmore. Both were brief tours, but I learned a great deal. Sadly, I also worked under two more detachment commanders suffering from alcoholism.
I arrived in Mountain View during the summer of 1962, and my experience there can only
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