Many police officers go beyond the call of duty every day, and the Vancouver Police Department is recognizing some of them today.
Const. Colleen McKitrick has worked with the VPD for the past 16 years.
The Vancouver Police say she is an exceptional investigator who routinely exceeds the team average for arrests and reports. As a police negotiator, she has amassed impressive statistics. Since 2009, she has been the primary negotiator on 105 calls and been the secondary negotiator 26 times.
For new recruits, she is one of the most sought after field trainers in the department.
In one case, her quick reflexes and sheer willpower and determination kept a woman from falling to her death, even though the woman weighed 280 pounds and tried to pull McKitrick over the railing with her. Despite this, she stayed with the woman while she was transported to hospital.
In another case, McKitrick was assigned to find two missing 12-year-old girls who had a suicide pact. She stuck with the case for weeks, and through her diligence discovered that 23 other children were involved in the pact. None of the children followed through.
Today, McKitrick is awarded the Chief Constable’s Commendation.
Two other constables are also being awarded the the Chief Constable’s Commendation after they wrestled a man to the ground who had pulled a knife on them.
On Nov. 11, 2011, Constables Sean Streich and Jas Mander, confronted an emotionally disturbed man who had thrown a rock through a car window for no reason. The man had pulled a knife on the occupants of the car, and then advanced towards the officers with the knife.
The VPD say the man was getting so close he could have easily made a fatal lunge. He ignored all orders to drop the knife and had already been seen lunging at two other people. Mander knew he had to take immediate action to stop this man, but as he was about to discharge his firearm he noticed that there were people standing behind the man. They were in danger of being hit by a stray bullet.
To safeguard those lives Streich wrestled the man to the ground and Mander joined in the struggle. The man continued to fight them, even after he was placed in handcuffs.
The officers were able to take the man into custody without injury to themselves or any bystanders, and in the process saved the life of a distraught man whose actions nearly resulted in a lethal force encounter.
Two more constables are also being awarded the Chief Constable’s Commendation for saving the life of a man who had cut his wrists and was bleeding heavily.
On Sept. 5, 2012, Constables Kyle Nishi and Chad Machuik rushed to a downtown rooming house where a man was slashing his wrists. Not waiting for cover units, they climbed the stairs. Nishi brought his beanbag shotgun with him.
They found the man in his room bleeding heavily, but instead of letting the officers help him, he picked up his knife and started sawing at his wrists again, all the while screaming obscenities. In order to stop the man from causing himself more harm or even killing himself, Nishi fired the beanbag shotgun.
The first round caused the man to stand up, and then he came at the officers with the knife. Nishi fired two more rounds but the man kept coming, now throwing the knife at them. The fourth round caused the man to fall down, allowing them to safely take him into custody.
Emotional residents gathered by the room as word had quickly spread through the building that police had “shot” one of their neighbours.
For their calm and decisive actions that saved the life of a suicidal man, Constables Kyle Nishi and Chad Machuik are awarded the Chief Constable’s Commendation.
A number of awards and certificates of merit will be handed out today to civilians, other officers and units in the department.
We will have more on the awards coming up on BC1, the Noon News and the News Hour.
Comments