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Local police recognized for work

Eight officers were honoured for removing impaired drivers
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Laurel Middelaer welcomes a police officer to Alexa’s Team. Black Press files

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Eight local police officers were recognized at a ceremony in Kelowna on May 9 for their work in removing impaired drivers from our roads last year. Five Nelson Police Department officers and three RCMP officers from the West Kootenay region made Alexa’s Team.

It is the 10th anniversary of Alexa’s Team which was formed in 2008, the year four-year-old Alexa Middelaer was killed by an impaired driver in Delta. A

Alexa’s Team recognizes police officers who have recommended at least 12 impaired driving charges and/or issued 90-day driving prohibitions under the Immediate Roadside Prohibition sanctions. In addition, these members have issued many more 24-hour, three-day and seven-day driving prohibitions in 2017.

Related: Remembering Alexa: 10 years after a drunk driver killed a young girl

Alexa’s Team has grown from 26 members to 2,400 new and returning RCMP and municipal police officers from throughout British Columbia.

“Once our police officers are no longer being recognized for removing impaired drivers, we will have all won,” said Nelson Police Department chief Paul Burkart.

“Until then, thank you to those citizens making safe choices and thank you to the police officers for dealing with those who are not.”

Impaired driving remains a high priority for the RCMP and Nelson Police Department. Drivers should expect to see police officers checking for sobriety at any time and any location.