Officers’ kind gesture rewarded with smiles

In a heartwarming act of kindness, several officers from the Vernon North Okanagan RCMP went above and beyond to brighten the day of a Vernon family.

On April 6th, 2022, around 5 p.m., police received a report of a theft of a vehicle from a parking lot of a business in the 4900-block of 27th Street in Vernon. Shortly after receiving the call, police located the stolen vehicle nearby. A 32-year old woman was later arrested and faces potential criminal charges in relation to the theft.

The story doesn’t end there. When police returned the vehicle to the owner, they learned that a number of personal items belonging to the family were still missing and the officers that responded to the call decided they wanted to do something to help the young family. They took up a collection and together with donations from other officers working at the time, raised enough of their own money to purchase some toys and replace several of the items stolen.

We did it because we wanted to, not because we had to, states Constable Joel Kooger, one of the officers involved in organizing the kind gesture. We just wanted to make the most of the opportunity, to make their day better, and to show we really do care.

Judging by the smile on the young man’s face, it looks like it worked.