Ottawa excludes Vernon officer

By Vernon Daily Courier Staff Wednesday, July 19, 2006 http://www.dailycourier.ca/article_376.php

The Vernon RCMP won’t give up the fight to have Auxiliary Const. Glen Evely honoured at the national RCMP memorial in Ottawa for officers killed in the line of duty.The local detachment found out Monday that a second application to push for Evely’s inclusion has been denied. Insp. Clair Hayward of the Vernon RCMP said that they will be sending a third application soon.“I don’t see how you can turn this down because they already have two auxiliaries on there,” he said. The criteria for the memorial include that the deceased must be a sworn police or peace officer who was killed while on duty. Since Evely was a volunteer, the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, which oversees induction to the memorial, have stated that he is not considered a sworn officer. However, two auxiliaries who died in 1986 and 1992 were included in the memorial.“He was killed in the line of duty so as far as we’re concerned he meets the criteria for induction on the national memorial.” Hayward said. “We’ve already told them that he was a sworn police officer in B.C.”Evely was killed when a stolen pickup truck slammed into his patrol car after a police chase in November 2004. Evely’s vehicle was not part of the pursuit and the driver continued to speed even though the chase had been called off. The truck ran a red light and Evely died at the scene.Peter Cuthbert, the executive director of the Canadian Association of Chiefs of Police, said that the criteria for the memorial is clear and that no volunteers can be inducted. He said that it’s possible that auxiliaries have been included in the past but over the last four years a stricter criteria have been adopted.“You will find that auxiliaries might take offense, but they aren’t police officers,” he said. “At the end of the day you have to draw the line.”Evely has been inducted to the memorial for the RCMP in Regina, one at RCMP headquarters in Ottawa and the police memorial in Victoria, which makes his exclusion at the national memorial puzzling, Hayward said.Each application for the national memorial is thoroughly looked at and debated, Cuthbert said. Each province has its own set of rules, which means that the same officer may be included in some memorials and excluded from others, he said.Under the current system, auxiliaries, reservists, university police and even officers who are killed serving as military police overseas are not eligible, Cuthbert said. The Vernon detachment is welcome to reapply but unless there is new information showing that Evely was a sworn officer, the application won’t be accepted, Cuthbert said. He added that the conditions can be changed if members want them to change.“These criteria are what chiefs and front line officers want to do – where they stand on it,” he said. “It’s always open to changes.”