It was another busy week for Vanderhoof RCMP and, as always, the calls were varied and unpredictable.
Such is the nature of police work, said Commanding Officer Sgt. Barbara Holley.
For example, on March 18, the RCMP received a 911 call in which a citizen reported that they were following what appeared to be an impaired driver. The vehicle was described and officers responded, locating the vehicle in short order, at which time they observed the vehicle in question being driven erratically, crossing back and forth over the centre line.
When the vehicle was stopped, and the female driver was asked to step out of the vehicle, she did so – and promptly fell on her face.
“She appeared to be very impaired,” said Holley.
The driver was brought back to the station where she refused to administer a breath sample and was charged with refusal to provide sample. She will appear in court in June.
Also on March 18, officers were called to the Saik’uz First Nation with a report that a handgun had been found in a snowbank at the reserve.
Officers responded and found a 22 calibre hand gun, equipped with a silencer; a configuration that immediately made it a restricted weapon under the law.
The gun has been sent to the crime lab where its ballistics will be checked against any outstanding crimes.
On March 23, officers were called to a domestic dispute near Cluculz Lake where a male resident had reported being assaulted by his female partner. When officers arrived the female at the residence reported that the male had “busted up her house”, hit her, pinned her to the ground and threatened to kill her with, of all things, a stool.
The male claimed that his partner had hit him on the head with a firewood appliance.
The couple, who both appeared to be quite intoxicated, were both deemed to be at fault and, as such, both were taken into custody and charged with domestic assault.
“It’s common that alcohol tends to play a large role in these situations,” said Holley.
In a final, rather strange, addition to this week’s police files, Holley received a call from a community resident who claimed to have psychic powers and added that they were prepared to provide information on unsolved crimes.
“We get this sort of thing fairly regularly, and despite what our personal opinions might be on the likelihood that there is any substance to the claims, we have to investigate,” said Holley.
“We’ve had people claim to have seen visions of crimes while looking at their box of Cheerios, but we still follow each report until we can establish with certainty that there is no credibility to the claims. We do it, just in case there is some (other) reason for the report.”
Such, it seems, is the nature of police work.
From couples beating each other about the head and shoulders in a drunken rage, to drivers incapable of staying on their feet, let alone drive, to reports of psychic revelations of crimes from spiritual cereal boxes …the officers are never quite sure what the next shift will bring.