“Five years ago, there was this elderly lady in the West End that got her walker stolen. Pretty much a heartless criminal stole her walker…who steals a walker? I felt quite bad for her and I ended up getting a new walker for her donated by one of my neighbours. She was so grateful–she loved it.

“It’s not a cookie-cutter office job [where] you do the same thing for years. It’s rewarding just helping people every day, just making a small difference in someone’s day. [Today], we’re assigned to these protesters–they’re here every Sunday. They’re anti-lockdown, anti-vaccine, stuff like that. Usually they march in the road and block traffic. [We’re] here for public safety to make sure no one gets run over.

“I think that the majority of the public still trusts the police and realizes that we have a job to do. There’s always going to be a small group that doesn’t like us. That’s fine–that’s their opinion. At the end of the day, we’re here to keep the citizens of Vancouver safe, and we’re just going to keep doing it.

“[Public opinion is] very cyclical in nature. After the Stanley Cup riot in 2011, the public loved us. Even at the beginning of the pandemic, people loved all first responders. But then, the George Floyd incident happened in Minnesota and that sort of spurred this big movement to defund the police all over North America, and it sort of changed. Now, we’re kind of going back up a little bit. People realize that crime is ramping up in the city, and they need the police to do a good job. Hopefully people continue to support us. I have another fifteen years in this job. It makes coming to work a lot easier.

“What have you learned about yourself while doing this job?”

“Just to be more patient. And not to rush stuff. Not to let different opinions sway your judgement. Go into each call and treat everyone equally and with respect. And not to take your job home with you at night.

“You learn so much every day–I’m still learning stuff every day. Talking to people, getting visible in the public. That’s why I enjoy being on the bicycle so much. It’s a lot different from being in a police car. If I’ve learned one big thing, it’s community engagement.”