Dear Editor:
I just want to take a minute to tell about my friend Sue Tupper, a North Vancouver RCMP officer who put on her uniform and blared her sirens in West Vancouver Wednesday to bring joy to two little boys she had never met.
Max and Finn love to pretend to be police officers so much that they had hand drawn police station signs to put on their bedroom doors. And when Sue heard that they would love to meet one in real life, she showed up, uniform on, in her police car, with gifts in hand, to make some kids she had never met very, very happy.
Neighbours and even a West Vancouver police officer looked on curiously as Sue, with her red and blue lights flashing, walked over to meet the family. The boys, who were shy at first, soon warmed up and talked with Sue about everything from how the flood lights work on her police car to why do people take things that don’t belong to them anyway?
They heard stories about the time Sue saved a little old lady who was lost while working on the missing persons task force, and asked questions about how police, ambulance and firefighters work together. They heard the sirens and about why she needs a computer in her car. They got to lift a very heavy bulletproof vest and even got to see Sue’s gas mask. They were absolutely thrilled, playing with their new toy police truck, badges, and radios. Sue left them with smiles and a big thank-you, before heading off to work.
Clearly, it is not as though Sue has nothing better to do with her time.
On top of her regular job as a supervisor with our local RCMP, Sue is also a crisis negotiator, which means she has participated in the rescues of countless people and puts herself in dangerous positions every day. When someone is on the bridge, or being dangerous with a gun, Sue is one of the people they trust to negotiate it.
But Sue is not only exceptional at work. She is exceptional in her life too. When she is not being an amazing friend to all of the people who love her, she is being a kind and attentive daughter and a loving niece or looking after her beautiful rescue dog or helping random strangers on the street while off duty.
She also can be found, in her off time, heading to the Red Cross to save even more lives by giving blood. And just a few months ago Sue even rescued a baby squirrel who was being attacked by a crow. And then, this week, she showed up to be a completely different kind of hero for Max and Finn.
In a world so inundated with negative images about police, Cpl. Sue Tupper is an example of what it means to be an outstanding one. She shows us not only what it means to be a good police officer, but what it means to be an exceptional human being.
Autumn Rock
North Vancouver
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