Officers with the North District RCMP were recognized Wednesday for their work in removing impaired drivers off local roadways and highways.
34 officers were named to Alexa’s Team including Cst. Andrew Waters from Williams Lake, and Cst. Trevor Pittman from Quesnel who each removed 14 drivers last year.
Removing the most was Cst. Kevan Kranmer who worked with the Quesnel detachment and is now with Prince George. In 2017 he removed 82 drivers off the road for impaired related offences.
Alexa’s Team has been recognizing police officers who take impaired drivers off the road for 10 years now and is named in honor of 4-year-old Alexa Middlelaer who was struck and killed on a roadside by a drunk driver while she was feeding a horse.
More than 86,000 drivers affected by alcohol or drugs across Canada have been pulled off roadways since 2008 by Alexa’s Team.
“We’re out there with education and enforcement trying to sway people to think before they make that decision, ” says North District Cpl. Madonna Saunderson.
“There are so many alternatives, all kind of programs that are available. So there’s absolutely no reason why someone should get behind the wheel if they’re impaired by alcohol or drug.”