POLICE ASSOCIATION OF NOVA SCOTIA 19 Since 1983, he has also been instructing on and off at the Atlantic Police Academy. Over the course of his career, he has investigated thousands of motor vehicle collisions that accounted for many of the nearly 40 deaths Cheverie has responded to as an officer. Exposure to so much tragedy, he concedes, takes its toll on a person. “It’s an accumulative effect,’’ he said. Still, Cheverie has many bright moments to reflect upon during his career, like the lives he has saved by rushing into burning buildings or jumping into the Hillsborough River. He said when he has a poor day he has those good memories to fall back on. For a particularly heroic period, some may have thought Cheverie was more a firefighter than a police officer. On March 10, 1986, the courageous cop rescued a man from a fire after entering the downstairs apartment four times because the smoke and heat were such that Cheverie could not breathe. Just over a year later, he forced open the door of a house and crawled on his hands and knees into the fiercely burning living room to see if anyone was there. Braving flames, heavy smoke and heat so intense it scorched his leather jacket and singed his hair and eyebrows, Cheverie hauled one child to safety. He raced back into the home, found two more children, and saved them as well. Never did he hesitate out of concern for his own life. “On both of those incidents, it comes back to you helping people who are in a worse situation than you,’’ he said. “My grandmother would say ‘God takes care of fools and idiots and I qualify for both.’’’ Sabrina Cheverie, 22, pauses for a moment when asked to explain the personality behind her father — a man who bolts into burning buildings, dives into freezing water, and holsters up a gun every day. “He’s crazy, he’s just crazy...but you have to be to do this job,’’ she said. “He’s an amazing police officer.’’ Sabrina says she grew up seeing just how challenging her father’s job was. She can recall dad coming home with black eyes and bruises after (literally) fighting crime proved to be a somewhat bloody affair. “You grow up and you see all the positive things and all the negative things (about being a police officer),’’ she said. After weighing the pros and cons, Sabrina has decided to follow in her father’s footsteps. She is training at the Atlantic Police Academy in Summerside, will do on-the-job training at the Charlottetown Police Services and hopes to find work with a municipal force in the western part of the country. The 56-year-old Cheverie, who will officially retire as a city cop on Sunday, is excited over his daughter’s future in enforcing the law. “The job has been extremely good — very rewarding,’’ he said. Here is a quick profile of Sgt. Dave Cheverie: - After serving more than 33 years with the Charlottetown Police Services, Cheverie, 56, will retire from the force Sunday. - He is married to Donna (nee White). The couple have two children: Brandon, 25, is a plumber and Sabrina, 22, is training to become a police officer. - His late father, Pius, was in the RCAF’s Medical Corps. His mother, Florence, turns 80 this summer. - Cheverie has volunteered with the Arthritis Society of P.E.I., the Heart and Stroke Foundation and the P.E.I. Critical Incident Stress Committee. - He served on the committee that was responsible for drafting and implementing the P.E.I. Victims of Family Violence Act. - A long-time motorcyclist, he is currently riding a Suzuki V-Strom. - His hobbies include carpentry, cabinet making and salmon fishing. Sgt. Dave Cheverie Retires . . . continued
RkJQdWJsaXNoZXIy MTM0NTk1OA==