How big is your family?
Pascal (me) 45 years old, Jennifer (my wife) 41 years old, Samuel (my son) 7 years old, [and] Kattelon (my daughter) 5 years old.
Do you have any pets?
We have “ZUKI”. She was a barn cat that was given to us by our friend veterinarian. She was purring loud and sounded like a Suzuki motorbike. That is why we called her Zuki.
We had a Great Dane Dog called “Sir Winston” but he passed away last year from bone cancer. We miss him.
How does your job influence your home life?
Quite [a] bit! Over the years, I was exposed to many accidents, deaths and investigations that shaped my journey through life. It definitely affected my family on occasions. For example, after I came back from an accident where kids were involved I found myself to be over protective of my kids on occasions and totally detached on other occasions. But I have also over the years got some counselling which gave me tools to deal with past and present events.
Describe yourself in three words or one sentence.
Honest, humble and hard working.
How did you decide to become a detective/Investigator?
It came with time and experience. My previous posting[s] in Gleichen and Cochrane allowed me to deal with a great deal of Domestic Violence situations giving me the experience needed to become what you call a detective. In the RCMP, all members are some kind of a detective because contrary to other Police services, an RCMP member will attend a scene and take the investigation all the way to the end. I was approached to become a Domestic Violence Investigator Coordinator 2 years ago
Did you always want to be a detective?
Yes, I always wanted to specialize in something and solve crime.
If you didn’t always want to be a detective, what did you want to be?
Undercover, James BOND type of character.
What kind of education do you need to be a detective?
Experience and understanding of Domestic Violence (DV) was my ticket to this job. I joined the RCMP when I was 22 years old and was one year short of finishing my University degree in Education. I never finished it.
When did you start studying to be a detective?
The day I was sent to DEPOT. [In] 1995, I spent 7 months at the RCMP academy in Regina followed by 6 months in the field (Hanna Detachment) with my trainer. I then spent the next 20 years gaining experience before I was taken from the street work to the Domestic Violence unit.
What did you do before you became a detective?
I worked in various detachments as a general duty constable (Hanna, Canmore, Cochrane, Bassano). I was transferred to Ottawa between 2004 and 2008 to be an Air Marshall. I was promoted as a detachment supervisor in 2009 in Gleichen. I worked as the detachment commander of the Vulcan RCMP detachment in 2014 for a period of one year. I then transferred to the Cochrane RCMP before becoming the southern Alberta Domestic Violence Coordinator (Detective as you call it).