Alexa's Team Grows

By 250 News

Sergeant Gord Flewelling, Laurel Middelear, Mike Middelear and Sergeant Pat McTiernan.  North District Traffic Services presented  the photo  of a  black bear and her cub to the Middelear's following the  "Alexa's Team" presentations.  The photo of the bears had been taken by North District Inspector Eric Brewer

Prince George, B.C.-  Thirty one RCMP officers with  North District Traffic Services, have joined a very special group,  they are now members of  “Alexa’s Team”.

Being a team member means the officer has forwarded to Crown, at least ten files for charges of  impaired driving over  the past year.

The team  is  an idea  which came to be in the wake of the tragic death of 4 year old Alexa Middelear.  She was killed when a vehicle driven by a person  since charged with impaired driving,  veered off the road,  hitting Alexa and her aunt in May of 2008 in Delta.

Alexa’s parents attended the ceremony at Ron Brent Elementary School in Prince George today, and Laurel Middelear said while it would be easy for  her and her husband to be bitter over the loss of their daughter, but they are not “We chose to make purpose out of what happened to us.  We feel we have a duty, as parents to find some good.”   She told the  officers she understands the frustration they often feel when they  forward charges and start the long journey  through the justice system “I know it takes time to process impaired drivers.  You are our first and most important line of defence, (from drunk drivers) and we thank you for that.”

Several of the officers were dabbing their eyes as Laura Middellar talked about hearing the sirens and seeing the fire trucks race down the road to the scene of the crash “Then we got the call, and I knew Alexa was dead.”  She talked about arriving at the crash site, and the horrific scene that was spread before her “As police officers, I know you have witnessed much worse.”

(At right,  John Burns  accepts  Alexa Team ball cap from  Ron Brent grade one student Brianna Kopaz)

It was RCMP Inspector Ted Emanuels who came up with the idea of “Alexa’s Team”.  In the first year, 26 officers were recognized for meeting the goal of 10 charges to Crown.  That number has exploded to 174 members for 2009, with 31 of those officers from North District. Members of Alexa’s Team are responsible for one third of all the impaired driving charges forwarded to Crown last year. Laura Middelear offered praise to the leaders who dedicated the RCMP resources to crack down on drunk drivers, but urged them to keep up the fight “We know about budgets, but we have expectations that you will continue to pour resources into these efforts.”

Allan Lamb, Executive Director of the BCAA Traffic Safety Foundation told the group every week, impaired drivers kill 2 people in B.C. and injure 60 others.  He says the fight against drunk drivers will continue “No one is going to  rest until we have done everything we can to stop this scourge on our roads from causing devastating impacts on people’s lives.”

Laurel Middelear says there is still work to be done, that together  with the RCMP and the  Solicitor General’s Ministry, they are raising funds to have  three or four  fully mobile alcohol testing units for the province “They will be called Alexa’s Bus, and they will be purple, Alexa’s favourite colour.”

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