POLICING THE RINK
Puck fans, VPD love Agosta
You should be able to hear cheering out of Vancouver Police Department headquarters during the Olympic women’s hockey final.
Team Canada forward Meghan Agosta, who will be shooting for a fourth Olympic gold medal when her squad takes on the Americans today (8:10 p.m.) at the Gangneung Hockey Centre, is a VPD constable. She joined the force in September 2014.
“We’re all extremely proud of Meghan,” said Chief Const. Adam Palmer. “She’s representing Canada, but we also see her as representing this department on both the national and international stages.
“We have a lot of officers who have come from a sports background. We have recruited from many different areas of sport. They understand what Meghan has accomplished so far representing Canada. Everyone is really proud of her.”
Agosta, 31, is certainly proud of her day job. She’s talked it up whenever given the opportunity. For example, during the 2016 world hockey championship in Kamloops, the Ruthven, Ont., athlete told Postmedia News about how “in high school I’d see a police car drive by with the lights and sirens and I’d wonder where they were going and what they were doing.”
When it came time to decide on post-secondary, she picked Mercyhurst University in Erie, Pa., in large part because of its highly regarded criminal justice program.
She did help Mercyhurst become a national contender, including leading them to the 2009 NCAA championship game, where they lost to Wisconsin. In all four seasons at Mercyhurst, Agosta finished in the top three for the Patty Kazmaier Award, which goes to the best female NCAA player.
“I’ve had two passions in my life: hockey and policing,” Agosta said two years ago in Kamloops.
“With policing, it was just a matter of when. This job with the VPD just fell into my lap. I was in the right place at the right time meeting the right people and they gave me an amazing opportunity.”
With all that, she’s helping give people a different look at the VPD and other detachments, Palmer admits.
“When people interact with a police officer, it can be during a negative incident. Maybe your house has been broken into. Maybe you’ve been pulled over for speeding,” said Palmer. “When you see someone pull on that Canadian jersey and he or she also happens to be a police officer, it shows a more human side to the job.
“This is a diverse profession. We have people from all kinds of areas and with all kinds of interests. Meghan is one of the examples of that.
“Meghan is a great ambassador for Canada and a great ambassador for the VPD. I know she’s very gung-ho about being a VPD member.”
Agosta’s best work for Team Canada likely came in these parts, fittingly enough. She led the Vancouver 2010 tournament in scoring and was later named the event’s most valuable player.
She won her first gold medal at Turin 2006, just as she was turning 19.