Friday was a well-earned day of celebration for a proud Calgary family.
Members of the LaGrange family are marking another milestone in almost a century of service, on duty to protect and serve.
The occasion was Friday’s graduation ceremony of 14 new officers joining the Calgary Police Service.
They all had previous police experience elsewhere, becoming CPS officers after completing six weeks of training.
Among them was Const. Trent LaGrange, who joins the CPS after serving as an RCMP officer in Fort McMurray, Alta.
Trent LaGrange was presented his CPS badge at the ceremony by his father, Chief Dean LaGrange of the Camrose Police Service.
Trent LaGrange grew up with his dad in uniform — Dean LaGrange was a CPS officer for 26 years.
“It’s hard to remember a time when I wasn’t idolizing my dad,” Trent LaGrange said. “Playing cops and robbers in the back field of our house, always pretending I was my dad.”
Trent LaGrange is carrying on a family tradition that goes back to 1927.
“My grandfather was an inspector with the Regina Police Service (and) my father was an RCMP officer,” Dean LaGrange said. “And now both my sons are law enforcement officers and my daughter is a 911 dispatcher, so it kind of runs in the family.
“It’s a very proud day for me as a father.”
“We’ve always shared the dream of following in our great-grandfather, grandfather and father’s footsteps,” Trent LaGrange said. “It’s a great feeling.”
Friday’s graduation ceremony at CPS headquarters in northeast Calgary may not be the end of the LaGrange family tradition.
“I have a two-year-old grandson as well,” Dean LaGrange said. “So who knows? Maybe in 20 years we’ll be back here.”