The following text may have been generated by Optical Character Recognition, with varying degrees of accuracy. Reader beware!

Mr. Watt Vlater coached the Tbmnto Maple Leafs. Instead of accepting a call-up to the American Hockey league. he decided to make his parents happy and go back to school while play- ing for That Watt. who was. at the time. coaching the University of 'Ibronto Varsity Blues. It was during a stint with junior hockey’s Kitchener Rangers that he decided to give up on his dream to be a professional hockey player. York Regional Police Deputy Chief Herridge. 62. who retired after 40 years of service Dec. 31. was born in Kapuskasing. where his father worked as a regional for- ester. 7 ‘He played hockey at junior and university levels and became a police officer â€" deputy chief. no BY IERBMY GRIMALDI jgrimaldiGyrmgxom Bruce Herridge achieved two popular, dreams From hockey to policing, Herridge accomplishes goals In the néxt four years. Deputy Almost a decade later. when he was sufficiently fed up with his drive from Newmarket to Wood- bine Avenue each day. he made the jump to York Regional Police. “There was no‘ Hwy. 404 in Depttty Chief Herridgc was sold on policing as a career and two weeks after his let birthday. got the call accepting him into the 'Ibmnto force. 1982." he said. "Of codme. from when: I lived in Newmarket to my new posting in Georgina. was the same distance.“ Once in a York police unifomt. he made an immediate impact. spearheading a program to put the first computers into police cruis- Chief l lem‘dge not only got an edu- cation. but also a chance to play alongside future NHL coaching great Mike Keenan. One day. he accompanied a friend. who was a police officer. to a 'lbronto Police Service league hockey game. After former chief Amtand La Barge took charge. Deputy (thief Herridge was elevated to his cur- rent rank and helped co-ordinate the hiring of 376 officers in five years. along with mutant Chief Eric lolliffe. It wasn't until former chief Bob Midduugh took the helm that Deputy (Ihief Herridge would take charge of fmntiine policing in Vaughan. then one of the fast- est growing communities in the province. The force had to keep pace with York‘s significant population growth. he said. “They were pretty big back then." he said with a chuckle. "A lot bigger than now." He was so good at the admin- islmtive side of the business. the force kept him managing recotds and eventually co-ordinating a new radio system. "It was a refreshing change for someone who had been involved in tgghanogy forsp long." he said. In 2005. he was moved to opera- tions. the role he will vacate at the end of the year. “At the end of the day. it's all about the people and the camara- derie." he said. “I don't have a Paul Henderson moment." he said. "I‘m in good health. it's been a solid perfor- mance and I‘m doing a job I con- tinue to love. It's a dream job. I'm very proud I can be so passionate about the job I do." During his time in the post. he successfully spearheaded several major investigations. including the Super Bowl Bust â€" involving 400 officers and what police say was $2.5 million worth of illegal gam- bling cash seized in Markham. More than the high-profile operations. he will miss his col- leagues. both officers and civilians. he said. Deputy (thief Herridge‘s great- est personal succem is his everlast- ing passion for the career. The hafdest part of the job has "It‘s diflicult as an organiza- tion." he said. “It makes everyone pause and think about the work we do and how dangemus it can be. It's like a family how. so when you lose someone fmm a family. it makes you think about a whole lot of things." His next challenge will come in the form of his new role as direcâ€" tor of the Ontario Police (Iollogv in Aylmor. If you think this is the last you will hear of Deputy (Ihiof l lorridgo. yuu don't know the man or his low fur the pmfession. “I knew I wouldn't have been able to stop and do nothing. so I chose a related field." he Said. been losing colleagues in the line of duty. including (Zonst. (lam‘lt Styles. DetsConst. Rob Plunkctt. (Joust. William Grant and (Zonst. Doug lfibbling, he said. He said he hopes this will allnw him to shape policing through interacting with and training new recruits. $1’AFF PHOTO/NICK IWANYSHYN