When Const. Dan Murray began his career in policing, life was quite a bit different than it is now. There was no internet or smartphones and with a population of 436,264, Edmonton faced different challenges in 1971 than it does today.
“It’s definitely a lot more challenging now than it ever used to be, as we see every day in the news the things that are happening,” Murray said Monday.
It was 1971 when Murray joined the Edmonton Police Service. On Monday, he was honoured in a ceremony at Edmonton Police Headquarters for his 45 years of service, the longest any officer has served with the EPS.
With the EPS Pipes and Drums playing, Murray made his way into the ceremony with other members of the force, on hand to celebrate his distinguished career.
“I find him to be a very honourable and humble man,” Sgt. Kim Lafreniere said of Murray. “He puts in a good day’s work and never complains.”
Acting superintendent Trent Forsberg said it was an honour to celebrate Murray’s “dogged determination and good old fashioned stick-to-itness.”
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Through the years, Murray has seen a lot, having worked in the EPS Patrol Division, Traffic Court, Special Investigations Section, Training Section, Communications Branch, Traffic Flow Unit and Collision Investigation Unit.
Watch Below: Const. Dan Murray joined Shaye Ganam on Global News Morning to talk about his storied career and how policing has changed over four decades.
In the days leading up to his 45-year anniversary, Murray said he reflected on the cases he’s worked on and the members he’s worked with. One of the most important things he’s learned over the years is to be able to adapt to the changes.
Another lesson he’s learned is to not dwell on the tough days.
“There’s a lot of tragedy in everybody’s lives and it’s one of things that you have to deal with and you can’t dwell on it. You’ve got to learn from it and you’ve got to move forward.”
Murray currently works at the downtown division’s front counter where he helps the public with inquiries and reports. Still learning and experiencing new things on the job, Murray said he isn’t ready to retire just yet.
“My wife… she won’t allow me to retire unless I have something else to do and this is all I’ve ever known,” he said with a smile.
“I’m sure I’m going to wake up one day and say, ‘I’ve had enough’ but I enjoy dealing with people over the counter and there’s always something new that comes in… it keeps my interest level up.”
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