Their shifts are spent patrolling a city plagued by gunfire and gang violence. With some 60 shootings in 2016, Surrey RCMP have no shortage of crimes to solve.
Still, a few busy Mounties are finding time to continue a decade-old Surrey RCMP holiday tradition.
“It’s just another thing, another gesture of just giving,” Const. Parnelli Parnes said.
This year, the three-year Mountie is leading a team of more than a dozen caroling cops, who are lending their voices to spread Christmas cheer at local seniors’ homes.
“Arresting is just part of our job, it’s not everything,” joked Const. Parnes as he met with residents of Morgan Place Care Facility.
Although Const. Parnes is a rookie at the singing gig, you wouldn’t know it from his piano solos. A video of his rendition of Leonard Cohen’s “Hallelujah” has been shared more than 35,000 times since Surrey RCMP posted it on Facebook.
At Morgan Place, he treated the seniors to his take on U2’s “One.”
“Just to be a little bit different, I guess, and share something, a gift,” Const. Parnes said.
The singing Mountie has an acting background but also honed his talent in a fun video Surrey RCMP posted to educate drivers about the importance of slowing down and pulling over for emergency vehicles. Now, he’s sharing his gift as a performer with the community.
“Just the feeling of warmth and generosity and giving. Welcoming and acceptance, those values, I think those values are very, very important that we should all remind ourselves with one another.”
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