December 8, will be a bitter-sweet day for Barrhead RCMP Cpl. Darryl Lutz.
On that day Cpl. Lutz will retire and walk out of the Barrhead RCMP detachment for the last time, after completing, almost to the day 26 years of service with the RCMP. Most of those years have been in Barrhead.
Lutz, a New Brunswick native, joined the RCMP in 1988 and after graduating from Depot, he was posted to a small detachment in Boyle, Alta.
Lutz said he enjoyed his time in Boyle, like all members of the RCMP he realized, perhaps better than most, that it was going to be a temporary posting.
“My father was a member of the RCMP, so we moved around a lot when I was growing up,” Lutz said. “I don’t think, until I joined the RCMP, that I lived in one place for more than four years.”
After serving close to six years in Boyle, the RCMP asked Lutz to go to Barrhead.
That was in May of 1995 and despite receiving a lot of pressure to accept other postings, for the last 19 years Lutz has remained in Barrhead.
“I consider it a blessing,” Lutz said. “Out of all the thousands of places I could have been transferred to across Canada, not only was I transferred to Barrhead, but to be able to stay here for as long as I have, I have been truly blessed. Barrhead is truly a great place to be a police officer.”
He said if it wasn’t, he would have left Barrhead long ago, as on average most RCMP members are transferred every five years.
“It is a real testament to Barrhead that there have been so many officers who have stayed for so long,” he said.
Although Lutz may be the longest serving member in the Barrhead RCMP detachment, over the years he said there have been many members who have stayed for extended periods of time.
“We had one member who was here for 17 years, one for 11 another for 10,” he said. “If Barrhead was not a great place to live and be a police officer, we would of all transferred out long before.”
Especially considering the effort required to stay in a posting for an extended period of time.
Lutz said over the years the RCMP staffing has put a lot of pressure on him to accept a transfer to another location. He said the pressure to accept a transfer reached a high point in about 2005, ten years after Lutz moved to Barrhead.
“Fortunately, it was about that time when I received my promotion to Corporal. After a member gets promoted, the time clock kind of gets reset,” he said.
Lutz said he is glad his clock got reset because he has truly enjoyed the extra years he has spent at the Barrhead Detachment.
Because of the nature of being a police officer, Lutz said, the job has not always been rosy, adding that often he does not get to see people when they are at their best.
“As the saying goes 90 per cent of a police officer’s time is spent with 10 per cent of the population,” Lutz said.
However, he said it is that 90 per cent that has truly made his time in Barrhead a wonderful experience.
“The people that we police here in this area treat the RCMP like gold,” Lutz said, adding that the police have an especially good relationship with a number of volunteer groups.
“All the groups we work with on a daily basis, such as the people in the Victim Services Unit, Rural Crime Watch, Search and Rescue, just to name a few,” he said. “Being able to see the commitment, dedication and effort they put into their work, just gives us (RCMP) such a positive feeling.”
It is not only the volunteers and the public, that has helped Lutz stay in Barrhead to be such a positive one.
He said over his 19-years in the area, the local detachment has always had a strong relationship with both town and county councils.
“Even with all the changes that have happened in the area over the years, they have been very consistent and fair with us,” Lutz said.
Of course, Lutz said he would be negligent if he did not mention the quality people he has worked with.
“It doesn’t get much better, not only the members I work with, but the office staff as well. We have some really great people in this detachment. I think I am going to miss them the most.”
Even though Lutz is retiring, that does not mean he is through working with the RCMP. Starting in mid-December, Lutz will be taking on a new challenge with the RCMP, this time as a civilian.`
The detachment commander in St. Albert heard through the grapevine that Lutz was thinking of retiring, so he asked him if he would consider an administration position.
Lutz said his new job is perfect for him and his family, saying it will allow him to spend more time with his family.
“It was a great opportunity for me,” Lutz said, adding that in his new position he still will be able to wear an RCMP uniform. “It is a bitter sweet moment for me. I am sad to be leaving Barrhead and the RCMP, but I am excited to be rejoining the RCMP in a different capacity.”
