New top dog at Quesnel RCMP

Staff Sergeant Richard Weseen is now officially the newest Detachment Commander of the Quesnel RCMP.

Weseen had been acting in that role since Darren Dodge was promoted to Office in Charge of Williams Lake.

Weseen had been in charge of Operations of the detachment prior to the position becoming vacant.

Staff Sergeant Weseen’s family moved to Williams Lake when he was two years old.

He graduated High School in Williams Lake and then worked five years in a plywood plant for Weldwood (Now West Fraser).

In 1992, he moved to Hinton, Alberta and spent another 10 years working for Weldwood in a sawmill and pulp mill.

After working in the forest industry for 15 years, he decided to changed occupations, he joined the RCMP in 2003 and was first posted to Sherwood Park, Alberta.

After working over 2 years in front line policing, he worked another three years in the Municipal Drug Unit.

In the fall of 2008, Staff Sergeant Weseen transferred to Edmonton and worked in various units where he specialized in drug and gang enforcement.

In the fall of 2013, he was promoted to the rank of Corporal and transferred back to Sherwood Park where he was eventually promoted to Sergeant.

In January of 2016, Staff Sergeant Weseen transferred to the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team – Alberta’s police watchdog. ASIRT’s mandate was to investigate matters involving the police where serious injury or death occurred, as well as allegations that were of a serious or sensitive nature. There, he investigated police shootings, excessive force allegations, breach of trust, and anti-corruption investigations.

In August of 2019, Staff Sergeant Weseen returned to BC, and was placed in charge of the Quesnel detachment’s plain clothes unit and in 2020 assumed the role of Operation NCO, overseeing the detachments frontline policing and Crime Reduction Unit.