With a splash of champagne, Vancouver police christened its new patrol boat yesterday.
The boat, a state-of-the-art marine crime-fighting tool, will help Vancouver’s marine squad with criminal investigations and increased routine calls.
“It’s quite a unique craft,” said Sgt. Neil Gillespie, who heads VPD’s marine squad. “It’s the largest platform of its type in the Lower Mainland and it’s going to serve Vancouver well.”
The $500,000 vessel is named for Robert Gordon McBeath, a VPD officer — and Victoria Cross winner — who was shot and killed while trying to arrest an impaired driver in 1922.
Mayor Sam Sullivan, on hand for the boat’s christening yesterday, said the boat’s name is a reminder of the dangers police face every day.
-jeff.hodson@metronews.ca
