Numerous Langley Mounties commended for courage, perseverance

A hush had just settled over the crowd filling the lower level of the Church in the Valley auditorium.

Langley RCMP Const. Davide Minchella had just received an Officer in Charge Commendation from the community’s top cop, Supt. Adrian Marsden.

The constable had accepted his award and handshakes, then exchanged salutes with his boss. He was about to descend the stairs to rejoin his young family in the audience, and in that moment of silence, before the next award winner was called to the stage, a little youngster’s voice could be heard exclaiming in a surprisingly loud volume: “Yay Daddy, yay.”

It was the tiny scream of Minchella’s 18-month-old daughter, who jumped up on her chair and started cheering on her father.

It brought a simultaneous roar of laughter from the crowd of about 200 fellow Mounties in red serge and their family members who gathered recently for the Langley detachment’s first internal awards ceremony since 2019.

Almost everyone in the room was touched by the toddler’s display of support for her dad, recounted RCMP Cpl. Craig Van Herk, admitting he too was in stitches and then almost tears.

Minchella was one of 31 award recipients recognized April 27, for their actions on 20 different local police case files. Van Herk confirmed 23 of the detachments members – RCMP and civilian staff – were there in person to accept the accolades.

Minchella, a seven-year member of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (all of that time served in Langley), received his commendation for what Marsden described as professionalism displayed in the investigation and recovery of an abducted child.

In 2020, the Langley RCMP received a report from a guardian that their seven-year-old son had not been returned home by their co-guardian. After a “well-being check,” police determined the child had been abducted by the co-guardian.

Langley RCMP’s general investigation section took over the investigation, including Minchella.

During the next week, 14 affidavits were drafted that helped establish the location of the child, Van Herk explained.

Through what he described as the “persistence” of the investigators, and with the assistance of the Emergency Response Team, the suspects were arrested and the child was located “hidden inside a wall,” Van Herk said, elaborating on the case.

“The members involved worked many long hours for several days in a row, drafting affidavits, conducting surveillance, developing investigative strategies to prevent the [parent] from fleeing with the child, managing the witnesses – and then after rescuing the child, preparing a detailed report to Crown counsel, ensuring all supporting evidence was made available for charge approval.”

Minchella and three other RCMP involved with the case were commended that night for their “professionalism and dedication to duty while working as part of the investigative team that located and recovered an abducted child.”

While there were many deserving of recognition that night, Van Herk said a few others stood out for him.

He pointed to Const. Kyla Warcup, for instance, who was patrolling in 2019 when she saw flames coming from a second-floor balcony of a Langley City apartment. Firefighters had not yet been called.

The fire was quickly spreading. Warcup called for assistance, then rushed into the building to save a tenant inside who was unable to get out on her own.

“Without hesitation [she] entered the burning and smoke-filled apartment, despite the obvious danger, to evacuate the resident and got her to safety,” Van Herk said, noting both Warcup and the resident suffered smoke inhalation and had to be treated in hospital.

“Your actions prevented a much worse outcome to this fire,” Marsden said when thanking and commending Warcup, a general-duty officer who came to the Langley detachment right from training depot six and a half years ago.

“They are all exceptional, because they all received awards,” Van Herk said, pointing out another that stood out for him – namely Const. Kulvir Gill and his work on an historic cross-border case that led to the identification, apprehension, and ultimate conviction of an international sex offender.

In 2019, he was assigned a historical investigation from 2015. He looked into a United States citizen who reportedly befriended a youth [younger than 13], groomed them, and then travelled to Canada where he engaged in criminal sexual acts over days. Extorting and manipulating the vulnerable youth went on for the next three years, Van Herk said, reviewing the case summary.

Gill continued investigating for the next three years, working with Crown counsel, U.S. police, and Homeland security, as well as the Canadian Department of Justice, to obtain charges and a Canada-wide warrant for the suspect, as well as support to extradite the suspect to face the charges in court.

The local officer personally travelled to the U.S. to take custody of the suspect and returned him to Canada where he plead guilty in court and was sentenced to nearly six years to be served in a U.S. prison.

“I commend you for your dedication to duty and perseverance in identifying and apprehending a sexual predator from outside the country to protect further at-risk youth and ensure the suspect faced justice in Canada,” Marsden said during the awards ceremony.

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“This ceremony provides me a public opportunity to recognize officers, dispatchers, call takers and members of the community, commending them for notable incidents of heroic and highly professional service,” concluded the officer in charge.

In addition to these three officers, Officer in Charge Commendations were also given to the following:

Sgt. Michelle Stewart

Sgt. Stephen Weber

Cpl. Corinne MacPherson

Cpl. Kelsey Manning

Cpl. Vasile Mares

Cpl. Justin Sangha

Cpl. Trevor Vandermeer

Cpl. Dale Wagner

Detective Const. Adriana Waller

Const. Cameron Anderson

Const. Nick Amiri

Const. Tyler Doyle

Const. Sat Gosal

Const. Darryl Hofsink

Const. Devin Jarl

Const. Peter Mann

Const. Mari McGiffin

Const. Priyananth Navaitanahsivam

Const. Brandon Price

Const. Tyler White

Const. Austen Whitehead

Kim Aldcorn

Tracey Fegatilli

Nathalie Moffat

Christian Rodriguez

The 23 individuals in attendance at the ceremony received a crystal plaque, a written commendation, and a personally engraved challenge coin used to recognize someone’s unique service and contribution.

These award ceremonies were presented this spring in conjunction with an invite-only RCMP regimental dinner planned in the coming days.

Both events, formal and traditional ceremonies, help the local detachment recognize its members and staff while marking the RCMP’s 150th anniversary, Van Herk said.

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