Adding to the hustle and bustle of Memorial Park, Hope’s top cop became the town’s most famous police officer in Hope on Thursday.
Dressed in his red serge, Hope RCMP detachment commander stood in front of District Hall to take pictures with tourists from all over. Like a celebrity, droves and droves of tourists would hand their cameras to another police officer who came with Rehdner so that they could have their picture taken.
“A little bit of promotion for Hope,” said Rehdner. “I’m proud of the uniform, number one, first and foremost. It’s Canadian. People recognize it.
“That brings a smile to some people’s faces and we have a moment to connect. It’s a great experience for me.”
Rehdner said he found out that tour buses stop in Hope on Thursdays when he came out on Aug. 10 to meet a Japanese delegate from Hope’s sister city, Izu. Rehdner later went for coffee and he saw an “impressive” number of people who asked him for a picture.
“The mere fact that I got to meet people from around the world was, for me, it was fascinating, so I said, ‘Well, I’m going to do this again.’ “
Rehdner said he envisions doing this more frequently within the summertime.