The Port Moody Police Department was formed in 1913 with a single police officer expanding to a department of approximately 50 sworn officers and 20 civilian employees today. Its headquarters have been located at 3051 St Johns Street since the mid-1980’s. The headquarters were later re-developed on the same property, opening in 2006.
Port Moody Public Safety Building
Chief constables
Chief constables
Chief constable
Term of appointment
C.C. Mills
1913 to 1922
Thomas Mackie
1922 to 1939
George Helmsing
1939 to 1942
T, Davis
1942 to 1946
A.W. Kruger
1946 to 1960
A.D. Kupkee
1960 to 1967
E.C. Millard
1968 to 1969
L.A. McCabe
1970 to 1986
G.W.G. Laughy
1987 to 1992
R.C. Singbeil
1993 to 1998
D.W. Stuckel
1998 to 1999
P.J. Shrive
1999 to 2008
B. Parker
2008 to 2013
C. Rattenbury
2013 to 2017
D. Fleugel
2017 to present
Organizational structure
The department is structured into two main facets; a patrol division and a support division. The patrol division consists of four patrol shifts providing round the clock coverage of the city. The support division consists of various specialty units including a Major Crime Section, Training & Administration Section, Community Services Section as well as a Community Action Team.
In addition to the patrol and support division of PMPD, further policing services in an integrated capacity with the RCMP and other police agencies (where a PMPD officer is seconded to) that form the following integrated units: Integrated Homicide Investigations Team (IHIT), Integrated Road Safety Unit (IRSU), Integrated Forensic Identification Section (IFIS), Integrated K9 Services, Lower Mainland Emergency Response Team (LMD-ERT) and the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit (CFSEU) for Investigations and Uniform Gang Enforcement.
Crime Severity Index and weighted clearance scores
Port Moody continues to rank as one of the safest cities in British Columbia, based on the Statistics CanadaCrime Severity Index and weighted clearance rates among Canadian provinces, territories and census metropolitan areas. In 2021, Canada as a whole saw a decrease in CSI by -0.30% (73.68) compared to the previous year, whereas Port Moody’s score decreased by -4.0% and maintains a appreciatively low score of 37.8 CSI. Port Moody has the lowest score and one of the most improved compared to all surrounding cities in the Greater Vancouver Lower Mainland.
Controversy
On July 14, 2003, the PMPD came under the spotlight when a plainclothes officer shot and killed Keyvan Tabesh, an 18-year-old Iranian teen who had been driving around the city behaving erratically and wielding a machete in a threatening manner.[1] After hearing radio transmissions that indicated Tabesh's vehicle was of interest after fleeing from a marked police unit, the officer came upon the vehicle turning on to a cul-de-sac. He used his unmarked police vehicle to block it in to prevent it from fleeing while he waited for marked police units for cover.[2] Tabesh and one other occupant exited the vehicle. The officer identified himself as police and shouted for the men to not move. Rather than fleeing from him or dropping prone, both males ran towards the officer, Tabesh holding what the officer perceived to be a wood-handled weapon of an unknown type.[3] The officer fired at the pair, killing Tabesh.[3]
It was determined post-mortem that Tabesh had a blood alcohol content of .07, or "mild to moderate physical intoxication".[4] At the coroner's inquest, it was found that Tabesh had major depression with psychotic features, and had been prescribed medication which he had stopped taking just prior to the incident.[5] The five-person jury panel at the inquest found the act to be a homicide, meaning that it was caused by another person rather than natural causes or an accident, without the implication of criminal responsibility.[6] The mayor and chair of the police board determined that a complaint against the officer for using excessive and lethal force when other options were available was not substantiated. This decision was further upheld by the Police Complaint Commissioner of British Columbia.[7]
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