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Longtime B.C. Mountie spends last shift on duty in Nanaimo with her son

Feb 6, 2018 | 2:06 PM

NANAIMO — After a 32-year career, a B.C. Mountie spent her last shift in Nanaimo on the beat with a rookie officer she has been training her whole life.

Joanne Callens closed out her career in Nanaimo last Friday night on general duty with her 23-year-old son Ty Skrine, a newcomer still in his first year with the force.

Callens, who was posted in Kelowna, said it was perfect timing because her son was on night shift at the time and those are “always a little more fun.”

“You might come across something a little more interesting, which we did. The night started a little slow but then it picked up,” she told NanaimoNewsNOW. “Ty was like ‘Okay mom, stand back’ and I was like ‘You know what, I have been doing this for a while, it’s okay.’”

Callens had to “dust off the uniform,” as she spent the final 28 years of her career in plainclothes or undercover doing investigative work.

“She couldn’t find her vest and belt when she was getting ready,” Skrine said, chuckling.

He said it was hard to look at his mom like just another police officer.

“I obviously keep an eye on my partners, but I’m keeping an extra eye on my mom. When she was talking to someone on her own, I was worried, looking over my shoulder making sure she’s doing alright all the time.”

It was the first time his mom had seen him in uniform, which was a special moment, Skrine said. He added while it “meant a ton” to him, the experience was something Callens had been looking forward to for a long time.

“I don’t even think I had graduated from depot when she mentioned it to me. I told her I needed to get off my training portion first. She probably worked a few months longer than she needed to just to wait.”

It’s no coincidence Skrine ended up in Red Serge.

He’s a third generation Mountie, following his mom and grandfather. His stepdad and two siblings are also officers.

“It really, truly is super special,” Callens said. “The RCMP actually commemorates that with a pin he gets to wear on his Serge with three maple leafs on it…Just to be passing that baton to my son and knowing he’s doing such a good job keeping the citizens of Nanaimo safe makes us very proud of him.”

 

dom@nanaimonewsnow.com

On Twitter: @domabassi