A Prince George Mountie was not wearing police-issue swimming gear but still waded into a Prince George pool and took an agitated boy out of the water.
The 11-year-old began to rant and refuse to exit the pool at about 4:30 p.m. on Thursday. Staff and the boy's caregivers tried for two hours to calm him down but the situation escalated. At about 6:30 p.m., police were called.
"The boy became violent and abusive towards the Aquatic Centre's staff and the pool patrons, and he began to put himself at risk," said Prince George RCMP spokesman Cpl. Craig Douglass. "He was in the water, at times he was climbing up on the rock formations there, and was exhibiting violent behaviour, saying very abusive things, and as a result the pool had to be cleared of the other swimmers and we were called."
Police spent another hour coaxing the boy, but his behavior did not settle and he staunchly refused to leave the water.
"He was unwilling to co-operate. It wasn't a matter of him being scared to come out," said Douglass. "So a member entered the water and retrieved the boy, with lifeguards standing by not only for the boy's safety but also for the member's safety."
Wearing standard duty kit is hazardous to a police officer in deep water, the weight of typical Mountie gear makes swimming prohibitive, so proper attire was commandeered, compliments of pool employees.
"Definitely we did not have to dive in, the officer had time to change into swimming gear provided by the pool staff. The officer was very wet," Douglass said.
Another Mountie at the scene took the boy to a police cruiser and drove him home. This did not require any more than simple escorting tactics, Douglass said.
Meanwhile the initial police member dried off.
All of this was, due to the unusual nature of this incident, conducted under the watch of an RCMP supervisor who personally attended.
"The safety of the child and the rest of the public was paramount," Douglass said, and commended the pool's staff for their hours of commitment to ending the situation as safely as possible no matter how much time it took to reach a positive result.
