Morden Police Service has hired a new constable to replace a vacancy left when the Inspector position was created in 2021, moving then, Sargeant Sean Aune into the role, followed by then, Constable Scott Edwards moving into the role of Sargeant.
Chief Brad Neduzak made the announcement.
"We are very excited to announce our newest Constable, Constable Justin Comte, who comes with us from the Manitoba First Nations Police Service, and he has three years of service with them, so we are very excited to have a trained individual come to us with his experience and qualities and various courses that he brings with him from over his three years, which allows us to have an individual field trained for a few months, and then pretty much can be on their own."
Neduzak noted there was a competitive group of applicants from a wide range of backgrounds, many with a variety of experience from corrections to Sheriffs. He is impressed with the quality of applicants Morden received for this selection and shared the traits that made Compte the successful candidate.
"When you interview individuals, we look for not only the qualities, the experience, the training, and the background, but also how well this individual we feel will fit in our organization and we feel Justin has the right qualities and personality that will fit in very well with the rest of the team here. He's a little quieter, to begin with, but just a great individual and we look forward to having him join us here."
Constable Justin Compte said although there aren't any other close members of his family in law enforcement, he always wanted to be a Police Officer. Reminiscing when he was a kid, he was always the police when playing with other kids and making it his mission to become one.
"I grew up in Notre Dame de Lourdes, which is just about 45 minutes from Morden. Pretty much lived on a farm there till I was about 18. And when I graduated high school, I went to ACC in Brandon for Police Studies. Policing has been something I wanted to do my whole life, so that was the first easy step to take. After that, I got hired by the Brandon Sheriff's Office. I worked there for about three and a half years when the Manitoba First Nations police hired me. So up until this point, I think it's been about three and a half years, I've been working with MFNP."
Compte is excited to be living and serving closer to his family and said after the application process and meeting the management staff, he felt it is a good environment to work in. Then once hired, and working for a week meeting more people, he added it seems like a fun place to work.
He shared the traits he brings to the job.
"It's very easy for me to put myself in other people's shoes and understand where they're coming from, so I feel I provide a very unbiased and logical reasonable response to calls. I do have that desire to help people, so it's not something out of the question. When you become a police officer that you're not just going to calls and arresting 'bad guys,' it's something like, you are there for the community. They want you to feel safe and approachable. And I feel that's something Morden, as a city, is really appreciative of and then along with my 3 1/2 years policing with the minutes of the First Nations police, that experience helps me better serve this community."