Local 68 Hero

Jay Whitesell was recently thanked by the Kelowna RCMP for helping a police officer in need.

The Local 68 member, who works for Maple Reinders, was on the construction site when a man rammed his vehicle into a police cruiser after going on a crime spree in downtown Kelowna.

“I just remember I was at the back of the work site, doing some work that needed to get done, and I heard the commotion,” says Jay.

“Being a first aid attendant on site, my first thought was, oh my gosh, someone got hit in the crosswalk that’s right out front of our work site. So I went running, thinking someone’s going to need first aid.”

When Jay and two of his co-workers got to the scene, they saw that a police car had been hit by another car and the officer was being assaulted.

“It wasn’t the help that I anticipated giving, but someone needed help, and I just went in and gave the help that was needed,” says Jay.

For going above and beyond to help the officer, Jay and his two co-workers were awarded the Detachment Commander’s Commendation Recognition Award and the Kelowna RCMP Challenge Coin.