Sports leagues have their all-star teams, B.C. police forces have Alexa’s Team.
Seven officers from Coquitlam RCMP and three from Port Moody Police Department have been named to the 10th edition of the team of cops recognized for their diligence in removing impaired drivers from B.C. roads. Each removed at least 34 criminally impaired drivers from the road last year.
“Every impaired driver taken taken off our streets helps to make B.C. roadways safer,” said Insp. Mark Baxter, the officer in command for RCMP Lower Mainland district enhanced traffic services.
The team is named for Alexa Middelaer, a four-year-old girl from Delta who was killed in 2008 by an impaired driver.
Since the team was formed with its first 26 members, it has grown to 2,400 new and returning municipal and RCMP officers from across the province who’ve removed 86,534 drivers impaired by alcohol or drugs from the streets.
Their work has been complemented by Alexa’s Bus, a mobile safety unit that travels the province as an education and enforcement tool. It has been deployed 293 times since it was launched in 2014.
Another program, called RID 911, encourages the public to call 911 to report suspected impaired drivers.
The latest members of Alexa’s Team will be honoured at events in Metro Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna and Prince George.
The local members on the 2017 Alexa’s Team are, from Port Moody Police: constables Vincent Traietti, Doug Riley and Ricardo Kuipers; and from Coquitlam RCMP: corporals Glen Roberts and Colin Blake; and constables Reuben Lamb, Bradley Potter, Robert Sierakowski, David Cowley and David Bachtel.
