Former police officer continues acts of service in Rivers

RIVERS — A former small-town police officer is continuing minor acts of service and care in his community which lost its official police service in 2024.

Darryl Hodkin, who served on the Rivers Police Service through the 2000s and early 2010s, continues to act as a community leader in some ways due to relationships he formed while wearing the uniform. He tells the Sun that locals sometimes message him for advice on a swath of issues, and he also gets messages from other provinces.

“I could stop caring about people, turn a blind eye, but I still get people messaging me, asking for advice, asking ‘What should I do?’” he told the Sun from the site of the former police headquarters in Rivers on Second Avenue.

The civilian said that he continues to offer help when he can and direct people to official channels because he developed a sense of service to the community that didn’t fade away when he stopped working for the police service. Especially after the Rivers Police Service dissolved, he sees value in staying engaged.

“I’m still keeping an eye on stuff. And a lot of the people who are serious (about issues in the community), they know who I am,” he said. “They get a hold of me, they know how to find me.”

Residents have asked for advice about many things, such as a refresher on dog bylaws, steps to report someone missing, and information about protection orders, he said. He will also check-in with certain people from time to time to see how they’re doing.

The Rivers Police Service was dissolved in 2024 after staffing issues. The province announced in June of that year that RCMP would take over the coverage area.

The Blue Hills RCMP currently serves that area and others, like rural Brandon, Souris and Carberry.

Following the change of policing, some community members complained to the Sun that there had been more traffic problems in town, such as off-road vehicles driving down streets.

Community member Gerald Traford said last summer that offroad vehicle violations were an example of how problems in town had grown because of the drop in local police presence.

“When we had our own cops, everybody knew,” Traford said. “There wasn’t the motorcycles running around on the streets. There wasn’t the quads running around on the streets like there is.”

Traford told the Sun he has known Hodkin and his family for many years.

Being a member of the community still today, Hodkin said he feels a sense of service towards the people of the community. While he is not an officer, he still wants to provide knowledge and help as a civilian, he said.

The motivation behind this comes from the close connections he formed with community members in the municipality of roughly 1,800, he said. The small community offered a type of connection that he valued in police work and wanted to continue afterward.

“Life after policing has taught me that service doesn’t end when the uniform comes off. It simply changes form. The lessons, the compassion and the sense of duty remain,” he said. ”Even now, years later, I still feel that pull to serve.”

The former Rivers Police Service officer now works in renovations and some contract work for a rail line, but in his spare time stays engaged with residents. He said he thinks it’s the right thing to do, especially with seniors he has known for more than a decade.

“You see them slow down in life, and they don’t have any family around, so you still stop by and take the time to talk to them,” he said. “That’s what I miss most. You drop by and sit down with these people and they tell you how they are doing.”

Hodkin was living in the community and working in health care when he started volunteering in the 2000s with the Rivers Police Service. He then took police training in Winnipeg and started part-time paid work with the Rivers force before moving to full-time.

Hodkin stopped working for the service in 2014 following his return from an injury, he said, and the service continued for 10 more years until closing in 2024.

H e stepped away from the work before he was ready, he said, so he continued to stay engaged with the community as a civilian.

“It’s not easy when something you love is taken from you before you’ve had the chance to close that chapter on your own terms,” Hodkin told the Sun. “Walking away from the uniform felt like losing a part of myself — a part that had given me purpose, pride and connection.”

The 62-year-old wants to continue this as much as possible.

“I loved serving the residents of Rivers. Whether it was helping during someone’s worst day, or simply stopping by for a friendly chat, those moments mattered most,” he said. “True service isn’t defined by a badge or a title — it’s defined by heart. And as long as you carry that with you, you’re still making a difference, one act of kindness at a time.”

» cmcdowell@brandonsun.com