Stopping impaired drivers is the aim of Alexa鈥檚 Team.
Police officers from across B.C. gathered at Quigley Elementary on Wednesday, to be recognized for their efforts to stop drunk driving.
Alexa鈥檚 Team honoured 61 police officers in the southeastern region of B.C. at a police reception at the school, with 15 officers recognized from the 琉璃神社 area, two of which were named All Stars.
Troy Bevan of the 琉璃神社 RCMP Municipal Traffic Section earned an All Star award for pulling more than 25 drunk drivers off the road.
鈥淚t means at the end of the day we鈥檝e taken drunks off the road that could鈥檝e possibly killed somebody鈥� when you have enough people doing it, it means we鈥檝e taken hundreds of drunks off the roads,鈥� he said.
For Const. Bevan, keeping the public safe means a lot to him.
鈥淭here鈥檚 an overwhelming sense, as with most police officers, that we want to protect the society and community.鈥�
It鈥檚 a never-ending cycle with drunk driving, he said.
鈥淎ny publicity with this is good because it reminds people that police are there taking drunks off the road.鈥�
Const. Bevan said this year he has pulled around 60 impaired drivers off the road.
鈥淪ince its inception in 2008, Alexa鈥檚 Team has grown from 26 to more than 2,000 RCMP and Municipal police officers from all regions of British Columbia. In 2016, the number of team members grew provincially by 268,鈥� states an RCMP release.
鈥淎lexa鈥檚 Team is a program that recognizes dedicated police officers throughout B.C. who diligently work to reduce the number of drivers on the road affected by alcohol or drugs. The team is named for Alexa Middelaer who was killed by an alcohol impaired driver in 2008, while feeding a horse with her aunt in Delta, B.C.鈥�
Alexa鈥檚 mother Laurel Middlelaur addressed the crowd of police officers Wednesday, with tears in her eyes and her husband Michael by her side.
鈥淲e鈥檙e very ordinary simple people, and I鈥檓 very surprised the story of Alexa has continued to inspire,鈥� said Middlelaur. 鈥淚t was a tragedy and such an innocent thing for a child to do, feed a horse and I think that鈥檚 significant for people in B.C.鈥�
鈥淲e鈥檙e trying to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and find some good,鈥� she said.
Alexa鈥檚 Team recognition events are held in Metro Vancouver, Victoria, 琉璃神社 and Prince George.
