He became something of a local celebrity by combining tweets and traffic.
Now, constable Curtis Warnar is signing off for a new role in forensic identification within the Regina Police Service.
On his last day as a member of the traffic unit he’s looking back on the past six years and his widely-followed Twitter account, @RPSTrafficUnit.
“My goal with this account was not to make it a corporate account, per se, but make it an individual officer account where I could bring some of my personality- and the biggest thing is a sense of humour,” Warnar explained. “I don’t think anybody can do this job and not have a sense of humour.”
Warnar’s goal is to educate people about the traffic unit’s role and, hopefully, change driving habits for the better.
“I call it a virtual ride-along,” Warnar said. “This is what we do on a day-to-day basis. One minute I might be handing out a speeding ticket, next minute I’m shutting down a roadway so our SWAT team can go in and do a high-risk warrant.”
The account chronicles unbelievable excuses for speeding peppered with sharp-witted memes and GIFs, but it doesn’t shy away from the darker sights and incidents the force responds to.
“There was one call last year when we had that father that tried to drive his kids to school and was grossly, grossly intoxicated. I’ll never forget that one even when I’m long gone from here and retired,” Warnar said. “That call specifically resonated with so many people that could say ‘what if that person came to my kid’s school?'”
Warnar said he’s thankful for the camaraderie and growth the unit has seen in the past six years, and he’s looking forward to bringing his collision reconstruction skills to forensic identification- though it remains to be seen if his tweeting will continue.
“It’s bittersweet. Part of me is sad to be winding down, at the same time, part of me is excited for what’s to come.”
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