RICHARD ALLEN SCOTT - Through the Years

RICHARD ALLEN SCOTT
THROUGH THE YEARS
1980
Still in Surrey, I was assigned as a squad leader of about
10 members to attend a riot at the Matsqui Prison, which
was a couple of blocks from our home in Abbotsford. The
inmates had destroyed the inside of the prison and were
now all camped in the yard area (nicely grassed) outside
of the cellblocks. We were assigned to provide security
so that they wouldn’t come over the fences, etc. Other
members were assigned inside. I do remember that the
inmates were provided with hot meals from another part
of the prison, while us poor sods got catered lunch boxes
with lousy sandwiches. Nothing’s changed.
Robyne wearing my riot troop
helmet and gloves (backwards)
Surrey Burglary Squad
I was transferred in July from General Duties to General
Investigation Section (GIS), in charge of the Burglary
Squad…5 constables plus me as the Corporal In Charge.
A plainclothes job. Our job was to investigate all property
crimes (Break and Enters, Thefts) with a value of over
$5000 (which is over $15,000 in today’s dollars). We
were busy, and the guys working for me were incredibly
talented investigators and interrogators. Our solve rate
was extremely high. We worked in pairs on 10-hour
shifts ending at about 2AM (most nights), and provided a
lot of backup to the uniform members.
Christopher wearing
the gas mask
In the office by myself one day, I was requested to assist
other plainclothes members in their attempt to arrest an
escaped convict who they had been following for some
days in our area. He was reportedly armed and
dangerous. They had tracked him to a rural house and
were expecting him to get picked up by a taxi, which
happened and which they started following. I had
positioned myself close by and happened to be in the
direction in which the taxi was headed. Listening to the
talking on the radio I knew that the taxi was getting very
close. It passed me and I was the first police car
(unmarked of course) behind it now. I threw up the
portable emergency light on the dash and turned on the
siren. The taxi started pulling over onto the gravel
shoulder of the major road it was on and I skidded to a stop immediately behind it. I was out of
the car before it had even stopped. I just threw it into park and was out, running up to the front
passenger side, my snub-nose revolver out and pointing into the escapee’s face, and ordering
him out of the car. I pushed him against the side of the taxi and frisked him, finding a loaded .44
magnum in the back of his belt. Upon getting him back to the Detachment, and sitting down
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