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Columbia Valley RCMP Report
By Sgt. Bob Vatamaniuck
The last week witnessed the Columbia Valley RCMP respond to about 55 calls for service; last year that number hovered around 65. The following is a summary of a couple of the more interesting calls.
Drunk in public
On January 1, at about 2:30 a.m., RCMP was on patrol in Invermere when an officer noted a male walking on the sidewalk appearing to be very intoxicated. The officer stopped and spoke to the young male who had difficulty standing and carrying on a conversation; he also had a very strong odour of liquor coming from his breath and generally appeared to be very confused. The male was arrested for being drunk in a public place. He was subsequently transported to the detachment and given a safe and warm place to sleep it off; he was released when he proved sober.
Sled deck stolen near Brisco
During the afternoon hours of January 2 RCMP received a complaint citing that there was a theft near Brisco. The report stated that on December 30 between 10 a.m. and 6 p.m. a ramp for a sled deck was stolen. The truck was parked at the Steamboat Mountain Road and Brisco Road junction. The ramp was worth about $1,000; it is aluminum white in colour and that it has square hooks with one broken off the front.
Westside Road rollover
During the afternoon hours of January 5 RCMP was dispatched to a single vehicle rollover on Westside Road.
RCMP attended and spoke with the driver of the small car who stated he was driving at what he believed to be a reasonable rate of speed when he attempted to navigate a fairly sharp corner; the vehicle slid over the embankment and came to rest on its side.
It was obvious the major factor was the condition of the road, which was slushy and slippery. I’m reminded of an old proverb that is pertinent when it gets slick out there: “It is much better to be going slow and wishing you were going faster rather than going fast and suddenly wishing you were going slower.”
Assuming wrong in Assumption
Having to navigate police vehicles in this deep snow reminds me of a time, years ago, when I was posted to Assumption, Alberta.
One cold, snow filled January night I was training a recruit and sent him out on patrol by himself. Not long after he left he called me over the radio embarrassingly reporting he was stuck in the snow.
I drove to his location, assured him that these things happen, and hooked up the chains. I gave him direction that as I pull him out he accelerate his vehicle in reverse to facilitate the extraction. Obviously those directions were not explicit enough because as he got unstuck he kept accelerating and slammed into the front end of my police vehicle; in essence ruining two of our four patrol vehicles. Now facing hours of paperwork I seized his new learning opportunity and decided to teach him some new expletives.
– By Sgt. Bob Vatamaniuck is commander of the Columbia Valley RCMP Detachment
