Three Hills RCMP Sgt. Jamie Day (left) with the detachment’s newest officer, former Calgary City Police officer Todd Robertson. ECA Review/D. Nadeau
When policing has dominated your adult life, retirement, for Todd Robertson, is a noun, not a verb.
After 26 years with the Calgary Police Service (CPS), Linden area resident Robertson decided he was still young enough to make a contribution to the community.
So he decided to join the RCMP and after an abbreviated training session at Depot, the Force’s Regina training center, he became the newest member in the Three Hills detachment nearly a month ago.
Detachment Commander Sgt. Jamie Day was pleased to welcome such an experienced officer. “I appreciate Todd’s ability,” he said, “to help me as a resource person. It takes some pressure off me.”
Senior Constable Robertson, while primarily serving in Three Hills, will be available to fill in elsewhere, as assigned.
His experience started in his early 20s when he used his three years with a Scottish police force to begin his CPS career. His work in Calgary ended when he stepped aside from being a plainclothes detective sergeant in professional standards and internal affairs.
Moving from one police force to another comes with many differences: handgun model, computer systems, how suspects are chased—enough differences and changes to warrant training in Regina and weeks of on-the-job instruction.
When asked to reflect on becoming a Mountie, Robertson said he had qualified to retire from the CPS, but “Policing is a calling, not a job and I wasn’t prepared to sit around the house. It’s exciting to return to front-line work because I have the energy and knowledge to be useful. Makes me feel young again.”
David Nadeau
ECA Review
