City police swear in latest batch of recruits
When Madison McCardell swore to uphold her oath as a constable in the Vancouver Police Department on Friday, she became the third generation in her family to serve with the force. And just as Staff Sgt. Percy McCardell, who joined the VPD in 1939, gave his son Jim his badge when he joined in 1985, so too will Jim give his daughter Madison her badge.
“I wish everyone’s parents could give them their badge, it’s so special,” Madison said as her father stood beside her beaming in his uniform. “Words can’t describe it.”
As Chief Adam Palmer pointed out, police work has changed a lot, even since he joined the force in 1987. Cryptocurrency and terrorism, for instance, were “not even on our radar.”
So imagine the policing world when Madison McCardell’s grandfather, who served for 33 years and died in 2000, joined in 1939.
“Back in those days, rather than an academy they gave you a gun, a billy club and a beat,” Jim McCardell, an inspector in charge of the VPD’s emergency response team, said.
Madison McCardell is one of five recruits with family ties to the force, and the 19 new members of the VPD reflect how things have changed.
As Palmer pointed out to recruits in his speech, today’s police officer needs interpersonal skills and be able to calm things down. Police work is no longer a monochromatic boys’ club.
Friday’s new crop of constables includes speakers of Farsi, Punjabi, Mandarin and French; people born in Tehran, Moscow and Germany; a Canadian Armed Forces veteran; several martial artists; a figure skater, hockey players and an acrobat; almost all have a degree or diploma.
“I’ve wanted to be (a policewoman) forever, yeah,” Const. Rachel Doherty, a one-time B.C. Lions cheerleader who has trained with Cirque du Soleil, said. “Since I was a kid, like 10 or so. I’ve always thought it would be the coolest job.”
Const. Christina Coburn is a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee medal recipient for her quick and selfless action in helping save the life of a fellow border guard in 2012.
“An American pulled up and shot one of our officers pretty much point-blank in the neck,” Coburn recounted.
Both she and the victim were unarmed, but Coburn rushed over and staunched the bleeding until the shot officer could be airlifted to hospital and her life saved.
“We have hundreds and hundreds and hundreds of applications continue to flow into our office,” Palmer said. “Today, when I hand you that badge, it comes with great responsibility.”
The job, he said, isn’t for everybody, but “it’s the best job in the world.”