Laurie Smith, Federal Operations Supervisor (Ret’)
Laurie Smith graduated May 26, 1997 and was posted to Portage La Prairie, Manitoba. He did two years of municipal policing, followed by five years on three First Nations Reserves and seven years in the Northwest Territories. Laurie was NCO of Annapolis Valley Street Crime, Kingston GD, and his final five years were in Federal Serious and Organized Crime. Laurie retired in 2021 with 24 years and eight days of service.
Videos
I am honest with my kids
Sometimes you just need to listen
Supporting my RCMP friends and colleagues
Memory loss and PTSD
My dog gets me outside and keeps me busy
My hobbies were all adrenaline-based
Withdrawing from RCMP friends
I am “on guard” all of the time
Recognizing I needed help
The Portapique shootings and my decision to retire
I dealt with stress and trauma by keeping busy
Reminders can bring you right back to the time of a traumatic experience
I didn’t want anyone to know how affected I was by recent traumas
Realizing you are not as tough as you think you are
The death of my RCMP partner
I would try to tell funny stories about my work, to protect people from the reality
You are forced to “put empathy in the back seat” which changes the person you are
The effect of service on partner relationships
I felt I had to put up a lot of relationship barriers
People get transferred often so I stopped getting close to anyone
