The City of Port Alberni announced last week that Oceanside RCMP Staff Sgt. Brian Hunter is that city's new detachment commander.
Hunter has been the officer in charge of the Oceanside detachment since 2008. He has served for more than 22 years with the RCMP. He will be promoted to the rank of inspector as he assumes his new command in Port Alberni.
Hunter began his career in Shawnigan Lake in 1994 and moved his way through the Northern B.C. communities of Telegraph Creek, Dease Lake, Salmon Arm and Williams Lake before settling in Oceanside as the detachment commander.
The Alberni Valley News reported that the announcement of Hunter's new position followed an interview process with the RCMP, City of Port Alberni, the Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District and local First Nations governments.
"I am super excited, along with my wife, to move to the community and engage and get to know the community," Hunter told The News..
Hunter said he is expecting to have his house for sale in Parksville in the next couple of weeks and will move to Port Alberni once it sells. He said it's hard to give a concrete timeline of when exactly he will assume his post in Port Alberni, but he said he believes it will be about two or three months from now.
He said he is looking forward to joining the community as both a resident and as the new detachment commander.
Hunter is taking over in Port Alberni for Mac Richards, who has moved to Prince Edward Island and is the new superintendent with the Charlottetown RCMP.
There was no announcement from the RCMP about who will be the new Oceanside detachment commander.
— Alberni Valley News/NEWS Staff