An Interview with Dan Ritchie M.O.M.

by Gordon Nary

Gordon: Where were you born and what is one of your favorite childhood memories?

Dan: I was born in Calgary but grew up in Vancouver, BC. I worked as a police officer in a career that lasted forty-six years. I was stationed in five provinces: British Columbia, Alberta, Saskatchewan, Manitoba, and Ontario. As a five-year-old child, I was diagnosed with leukemia. I was a long-stay guest at the Vancouver hospital and distinctly remember my mother and grandparents praying the rosary at my bedside. This stuck with me all my life. The doctors told my parents I most likely wouldn’t live past the age of twelve, but God had other plans for me. By the age of ten, there was no trace of leukemia present in my blood Many family and friends told me that God had a special plan for my life.

Gordon: You have attended several colleges and universities. Please list them and your favorite course at each school.

Dan: My post-secondary education and coursework were in Criminology, Political Science, History, Conflict Resolution & Negotiation, and Leadership. I attended Douglas College, College of New Caledonia, Canadian Police College (Ottawa), Red River College, University of Winnipeg, University of Virginia, University of Saskatchewan, University of Alberta, Grant MacEwan College, Justice Institute of British Columbia, and St. Mark’s College at UBC (Diploma in Pastoral Care).

Gordon: What initially interested you in being a policeman?

Dan: The promise of action called me to this profession. I wasn’t one for sitting still and I wanted to be of service to others. Many people remark that moving from a police officer to a Deacon is the opposite end of the spectrum. I disagree — both are all about service. Service is the primary role of the Catholic Deacon, whether it is in policing, in the Church, or in the community. As a Deacon working as a police officer, I was always concerned about the community I served. Issues surrounding homelessness and drug addiction spurred me to be of service to my fellow man. What always stayed with me were the words of thanks from the people I helped and the good friends I made throughout that time, both on the street and in the Church.

Gordon: When did you serve as a Correctional Officer at the Federal British Columbia Penitentiary and what were some of the challenges that you had to address?

Dan: I began a very short career at the New Westminster BC Penitentiary in 1976. At the time, I was a starving student at Douglas College just down the road. I was actually given just an address by the employment office, not realizing it was the Penitentiary. I went in alone to apply, and they sat me down, putting a blank piece of paper in front of me. They asked me to write a one-page story. I asked, “What kind of story?” and they replied, “Any story. You and a friend are walking in the woods — what happens?” So I wrote a one-page story. When I finished, the clerk picked it up, looked at it, and then yelled out to a person in the back room, “He can write.” The other fellow said, “Hire him.” The next week, they were fitting me with a uniform, and I began training.

Gordon: Tell us about the 1976 Riot & Hostage-Taking Incident.

Dan: I undertook a month-long in-house training program that focused heavily on self-defensive tactics, firearms, and gas training. Weapons included handguns, rifles, shotguns, and gas guns, including exposure to various types of gas projectiles. Search and seizure was emphasized greatly, as this was a big part of a Correctional Officer’s duties. This training served me especially well when I transitioned to a career in policing.

After the month-long training, I was scheduled to work in every part of the prison for a minimum of four hours, including the Super Maximum Unit — or what was known as “solitary confinement.”

Shortly into my orientation throughout the prison, we began hearing rumors of a potential riot that would mark the one-year anniversary of the previous riot in 1975, which led to the death of a Federal Penitentiary Social Worker by the name of Mary Steinhauser.

Shortly after 3 PM on September 27th, 1976, as prisoners were being let out of their cells for showers, they overran the 240-cell East Wing and began to destroy the cell block, tearing out bars, wedging open doors, and forcing guards to evacuate the area and attempt to contain the riot to this one section. At about 7 in the evening, ten inmates invaded the kitchen and took two guards hostage. As the inmates smashed everything they could, the rest of the prison — including the hole — was relatively quiet. The final tally included twenty-five of ninety-five cells in the North Wing destroyed, fifty of 110 in B-7 destroyed, and two hundred in the East Block destroyed. Jack Webster, a radio talk show host, helped negotiate an end to the riot after a couple of days.

Gordon: When did you serve as Superintendent, Prairie Region (MB, SK & NW ONT), and what were your primary responsibilities?

Dan: I was promoted to the rank of Superintendent in 1991 at the age of 36, in charge of the Prairie Region from Saskatoon to Thunder Bay, stationed in Winnipeg, MB. I was responsible for all criminal and administrative operations for this area, as well as all crime prevention activities. I attended St. Vital Parish in the south side of Winnipeg and am currently the Deacon at St. Vital in Beaumont, Alberta — quite a coincidence.

My daughter Faith attended university in Winnipeg, and when we moved in 1994, she began her adult life in Social Work, moving to Newfoundland where my wife had family. She attended Memorial University, began her MA in Social Work, and worked for the Red Cross International Emergency call-out team for disasters around the world.

Gordon: When and where did you serve as Deputy Chief, and what is one of your favorite memories from that time?

Dan: I was promoted to the rank of Deputy Chief in Edmonton, Alberta, in 1996. One of my greatest challenges and memories was being selected to attend the 180th Session of the FBI National Academy Course in Quantico, Virginia. This 11-week course, along with 259 police officers from every state in the USA and 33 worldwide police officers, has been part of the FBI’s offering since 1935.

Physical fitness is a regime at the Academy, and the courses are configured and certified by the University of Virginia, with credits issued toward a Bachelor’s or Master’s degree. While at the Academy, we were afforded three visits to the White House and the U.S. Capitol. I was fortunate enough to have my picture taken sitting in the Speaker’s chair in the Senate. We were also given a tour of the Pentagon and many other sites throughout Washington and Virginia.

Gordon: When did you serve as Police Executive, CN Police Services, and what were your primary responsibilities?

Dan: In 1998, my responsibilities as Deputy Chief were expanded to all of Canada and our operations in the USA. My focus was on administrative actions, training, and equipment. My background in training served me well in this capacity, as I was an instructor in various police subjects such as Criminal Law, Interviewing & Interrogation. I was a certified Drug Recognition Expert and Impaired Driving Investigations instructor.

I began instructing in 1986 and was the lead Criminal Law instructor for both recruit and advanced courses internally. I was also seconded to the Federal Law Enforcement Under Review (FLEUR) (Ottawa) and the Solicitor General’s Staff College program in Alberta.

Gordon: When did you serve as Senior Special Agent, Police Services, BNSF Railway, and what is one of your favorite memories from that time?

Dan: I retired from CN Police Service in April of 2017 after a 40-year career and thought that the rest of my life would be solely devoted to service to the Church in Langley, BC. However, after seven months, another police service came looking for me. The BNSF Railway runs a 40-mile line throughout the Lower Mainland of Vancouver. Trains come across the border at Peace Arch and terminate as far as Vancouver.

They had previously contracted with me to provide policing with my staff but now wanted a lone officer to represent them. Once again, I found myself back in uniform with a different patch on my shoulder, policing throughout seven municipalities and providing policing and security.

One memory that sticks out in my mind that I enjoyed the most was block training every year in either Topeka, Kansas, or Fort Worth, Texas. These one-week training periods were mostly hands-on self-defensive tactics, firearms, OC, and Taser training.

Gordon: Why did you decide to end your police work?

Dan: I retired in April of 2023 I found that working through the COVID experience was physically draining Maybe I was just getting older and long in the tooth, but I found many people who were coming into contact with the police were angry and defiant — even for simple matters such as identifying themselves or providing their driver’s license. There was a level of anger and resistance that I had not experienced previously to the degree that now exists.

In a rather ordinary circumstance, a male found committing a federal offence refused to identify himself and then escaped lawful custody. A physical confrontation occurred and I was thrown to the ground, receiving serious injuries that even today persist. I was off on injury for the first time in my career for a period of 82 days. I knew that my time had come to leave this profession to those who were younger and better able to adapt.

I am so grateful to my many mentors and fellow officers who helped shape my career, with whom I worked shoulder to shoulder to make our communities safer. I am so happy to have served.

Gordon: Where do you serve as Deacon, and what do you find most rewarding about your work?

Dan: I am currently the Deacon at Saint Vital Parish in Beaumont, Alberta. Beaumont is a small community fifteen minutes south of Edmonton. Beaumont was originally a French community, and while there are still many Francophones, it has steadily grown into an English-speaking community. I conduct most of the baptisms, witness marriages, and deliver Sunday and weekday homilies — many of which include police stories from my career.

I sit on many committees, including bringing the Eucharist to seniors and delivering whatever assistance I can to our pastor, Father Les Drewicki. I suspect the most rewarding part of my work is delivering homilies, especially when they touch the subject of forgiveness. You can’t conclude a 46-year career in policing without asking others for forgiveness and forgiving others as well.

Gordon: Who is your favorite Saint and why is that Saint your favorite?

Dan: Saint Michael the Archangel is my favorite Saint. Saint Michael serves as the patron saint of sick people who are suffering from any type of illness such as leukemia. He is also a patron saint of people who work in dangerous conditions, such as police officers. I always wore a Saint Michael medallion in my body armor while on duty.

Saint Michael is the leader of all the holy angels. He is often working on missions to fight evil, proclaim God’s truth, and strengthen the faith of the people. Although he is called a saint, he is truly an angel and a leader of them and ultimately the army of God. By definition, he is above others in rank.

There are fewer than five scriptures about him, but from those, we can gather that one of his main strengths involves protection from enemies. He is rarely mentioned by name in the Old Testament and is primarily referred to in the Book of Daniel.

Gordon:  Thank you for a great interview.