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Former Red Deer RCMP officer awarded Order of Merit

Retired Red Deer RCMP officer Peter Quilty has no regrets or complaints.

Retired Red Deer RCMP officer Peter Quilty has no regrets or complaints.

He has put the bad guys away in three provinces in Canada, worked on the Musical Ride and helped indict three Indonesian officials on 37 counts of crimes against humanity in East Timor.

It’s fair to say the city’s recently-retired RCMP Operations NCO has had quite the career in his 35 plus years, of which nearly seven were spent in Red Deer.

And the most recent accolade came on Sept.9 when Quilty was awarded the Order of Merit of the Police Forces from Gov. Gen. David Johnston at Rideau Hall in Ottawa.

The award is given out to Canadian Police Services men and women who demonstrate leadership and exceptional service and commitment to the country.

“I was obviously surprised,” said Quilty, 57. “It’s a rather humbling experience you might say because you don’t expect it. You just do your job. It was nice to have my efforts and my job performance over the years recognized and acknowledged in such a high regard. It was a really nice feeling.”

Quilty retired on July 24 from a career, he says, where he was fortunate to have worked with some fine people over the years. He said he is proud to have worked for the RCMP which is a Canadian institution that is recognized and respected around the world.

“Policing for me was a journey of developing strong/lasting relationships and partnerships with people and community groups,” he said.

“I joined the RCMP to solve crime, hold people accountable for their actions and be a positive influence in trying to make and improve upon the safety of the communities I served.”

Ottawa-born Quilty became interested in public service watching his mother work for security for the RCMP Security Service for more than 30 years.

He also was drawn to the field because of his cub and boy scout master who was a RCMP officer.

After joining the RCMP in 1978, Quilty worked in Nova Scotia and Ottawa before he left for Alberta where he would spent the bulk of his career in 1984.

He worked in Redwater before transferring to Slave Lake where he spent 10 years. In 2002, Quilty served on a nine month United Nations peacekeeping mission in Dili, East Timor, one of the many highlights of his career.

Because of his strong investigation skills and experience he was assigned to the Serious Crimes Unit where he investigated crimes against humanity including murder, torture, forced deportation and destruction of property.

“I worked closely with other members of the other police agencies from Australia, England, Spain and the United States,” he said. “I had great success in that mission by having three Indonesian officials indicted on 37 counts of crimes against humanity.”

Other highlights include working the 1988 Winter Olympics in Calgary, meeting the queen in June 1991 at Spruce Meadows, receiving the Queen’s Diamond Jubilee Medal in 2013 and working front-line policing in small towns for most of his career.

crhyno@www.reddeeradvocate.com