Please Send a Car 3/4
S/Sgt (later Inspector) Charlie Bates (front row, second from right)
(Served with the Oak Bay Police, 1946 – 1976)
Go to Different Strokes for Part 1
Part 4 Link to Tickets, Tickets, Tickets
Once again, better judgment failed to penetrate my clouded brain as I picked up the phone and called a taxi. While it seemed funny at the moment, after hanging up the phone, I wondered whether the Inspector would appreciate the little joke.
Throughout these stories, I will intersperse a number of anecdotes such as this. Each has more to do with explaining the camaraderie that exists within a small department that might not be tollerated in a larger organization. Yet, in every department, whether large or small, men and women must learn to work closely in order the gain the trust needed to accomplish the job in an effective manner. At times this involved black humour that outsiders might find offensive, at other times practical jokes carried the day (or night) and very often, spending time together in social situations where families came to understand the broad support system that existed within and across police forces in the CRD1.
With a few exceptions, senior ranks were not immune to being the brunt of a practical joke and in this case it involved the 2 I/C of our Department, Inspector Charlie Bates.2 Charlie was one of the most knowledgeable, honest and straightforward men of senior rank I had the pleasure to work with over my early career. He certainly provided much needed balance to the dictatorial, ex-Regimental Sergeant Major who was then our Chief Constable. Inspector Bates, however, subscribed to the old school motto: “rank hath its privilege”.
As he worked straight days (Monday to Friday) he often chose to lunch at his home near the Chinese Cemetery, at the very south-west corner of the Municipality, a distance of about three kilometers from the office. Just before lunch each day he would ask dispatch to have a car pick him up at the office, then, a little before 1:00 pm, he would phone and ask that a car be sent to pick him up.
I happened to pick up the phone one day when the Inspector asked for a pick-up and, for some reason, I was a little miffed that he constantly made these requests without much consideration as to what we might be happening at that particular time.
Instead of dispatching a car, I picked up the phone, called Victoria Cabs and asked them to dispatch a car to his residence. Twenty minutes later the Inspector arrived at the office, paid the fare and entered the station. He never said a word about the dispatch, but one knew, just knew, the good Inspector would bide his time.
It was not many shifts later that items of lingerie started appearing in my personal car. No matter if my car was locked, I would find a bra under the seat, panties in the glove compartment and many other tidbits of exotica. It would not have been good to leave those items in the car as my wife also used it regularly, might not think my explanation of “it was just the Inspector playing a practical joke” was plausible. As suddenly as the exotic drops began, they stopped. It was clear the good Inspector had made his point and had had a good chuckle. One could never be too careful.
Oh, and one other in-office trick played by the Inspector. We had a common fridge for our lunch and other tidbits. It was not uncommon to find a poacher had sampled your goodie bag. One day there was a small bag of hard cookies that were be freely sampled by other officers. When the bag was nearly empty, the Inspector came by at lunch time, noted the bag nearly empty and loudly exclaimed, “who the hell did those dog treats go I just purchased.” No one admitted having sampled them. For my part, I thought they were rather tasteless.
Part 4 Link to Tickets, Tickets, Tickets
(1) The downside of this closeness will eventually be explored in a story about the “Thin Blue Line”.
(2) Inspector Bates son, Charlie Jr., later joined the Victoria PD
(389)
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