SUMMERSIDE – One is a rookie, barely out of his first year in uniform and the other is a veteran with more than 30 years of policing experience, but both represent the true spirit of policing.
And they were rewarded for that exceptionalism Monday.
The P.E.I. Crime Stoppers Police Officer of the Year awards were handed out to Const. Joseph Arsenault of the Kensington Police Service and Cpl. Scott Lundrigan of the Prince District RCMP.
The men were selected from a field of 11 nominees broken between the RCMP and community police categories.
Arsenault’s nomination brief stressed his dedication to his work and highlighted an incident last year where he extracted a person from a burning building.
The award is a great way to start what, he hopes, will be a life-long career, he said.
“I can’t even believe I’m being awarded something like this – it’s a true honour,” said Arsenault.
“For me, reward enough is getting up and going to work every day. I love my job.”
Lundrigan’s nomination cited his dedication to not only his job, but also his involvement in local youth programs like the Scouts and the Royal Canadian Air Cadets.
The veteran officer praised Crime Stoppers for its work and offered thanks on behalf of all the nominees for the awards.
“I enjoy my job – 35-plus years and I still like going to work,” he said.
“At the end of the day, this is not the kind of job you want to do 25 or 30 years if you don’t love what you’re doing. Bottom line.”
Gary Bowness, former president of P.E.I. Crime Stoppers, praised all the officers nominated. They’re all certainly deserving, he said.
“They do a tremendous job and it can be thankless by times and it is tough. I mean look what’s happened across the country even in Moncton last year. It is a tough job,” said Bowness.
P.E.I. Crime Stoppers has been handing out Police Officer of the Year awards since 2012.
Colin.MacLean@JournalPioneer.com
@JournalPMacLean
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