Why Hug a Cop

I was raised in a small town in the interior of British Columbia, Canada. I was raised to be honest and respect my parents and other adults. I never encountered police in my adolescent years, as I never got into trouble, and there was no police officer in our town.

After I graduated, I left home and wandered from town to town and job to job. I worked at many different jobs and moved to Vancouver, B.C. When in Vancouver, I still could not find the job I wanted to do.

There was an old Provincial Prison in a neighboring city, Burnaby, and in this city, there was this prison called “Oakalla.” I applied and was accepted and started work there. After working at Oakalla for several months I was promoted to a great job as a booking officer. I guess the higher-ups saw some potential in me.

After a year, I saw a posting that the Province of British Columbia was expanding the Sheriff’s Office, so I applied, was accepted, and was in class three at the training academy. While going through the training, I thought I would like to be an instructor. Five years later, I was an instructor and promoted from Corporal to Sergeant. I was at the Justice Institute of British Columbia for two and a half years. I trained, along with others, approximately ten classes of new recruits and refresher classes for Deputies in service.

My training courses were self-defense, handguns, handgun retention, civil law, and lifestyle fitness. When I finished my term at the Justice Institute, I went back to my unit, and after a couple of years, I was promoted to a full Sheriff and transferred to a Northern Posting, and after four years, I was transferred to our Burnaby Office.

I retired after thirty years and have been wanting to write this book for many years.