Burnaby RCMP Const. Michael Gardner is an all-star when it comes to getting drunk drivers off the road.
Last year, the general duty officer nabbed 53 of them.
He was recognized for his service last week by being named to Alexa’s Team, an initiative in honour of Alexa Middelaer, a four-year-old girl killed by a drunk driver in Ladner in 2008.
This year is the 10th anniversary of Alexa’s death.
Since 2008, the initiative that bears her name has been responsible for getting 86,534 impaired drivers off the road, and her “team” has grown from 26 members to 2,400 new and returning RCMP and municipal police officers from all corners of the province.
“As we reflect on the 10 years since Alexa’s life was taken, as a family, we were hoping to find some good in the wake of her tragic loss,” stated Laurel Middelaer, Alexa’s mom, in a press release. “Alexa’s Team is a shining example of that goodness, and of what can be accomplished when like-minded people band together to honour a young life.”
To be named to Alexa’s Team, officers have to get at least a dozen impaired drivers off the road in a year; to be recognized as an all-star, that number has to be at least 34.
Five other Burnaby-based Mounties joined Gardner on the team this year: traffic services members Cpl. Jason Bayer and Const. Diane Marsh; and Port Mann RCMP members Const. John Stables, Const. Harmeek Waraich and Cpl. Brad Lougheed.
In total, the Burnaby group nabbed 192 impaired drivers in 2017.
They were honoured at the Justice Institute on B.C. in New Westminster on April 17.
