Summerside police chief takes off his badge after almost 45 years on the job

After more than 40 decades on the job, Summerside police Chief Dave Poirier has decided to call it a day, something he says was an agonizing decision.

During his time on the force, Poirier answered thousands of calls, had countless experiences — some of them scary — and witnessed a lot of change in the world and in policing.

Over the years, Poirier has received awards for saving peoples' lives, but credits his wife Ruby for saving his own — by coming home early from a wedding.

He had an infection in his foot, which eventually spread. 

"I went to get up and I fell over the coffee table and she took me right to the hospital. If she hadn't come home, I wouldn't be talking to you right now," he said.

Poirier had the lower part of his leg amputated below the knee.

"And now I have a prosthetic, but get along pretty good now just with a cane and I hope to improve on that as we move along." 

The 65 year old said he and Ruby talked about him retiring for a few agonizing months. But he felt it was time. 

He said his best day was his first day on the job. His worst day was more recent. 

"When I lost my leg to this disease of diabetes and the infection. But you know what? It's a bump on the road. We move on." 

Poirier joined the Summerside force in 1978. And he said things have changed dramatically over the years. 

He said when he started it wasn't unusual for there to be one officer working alone on the streets on weeknights. 

"Times have changed and in the way of say equipment and things that are needed to to survive out there. And it would be suicide today to have one member on the street with the times changing so much," he said. 

"You know, the city has been great to us, providing the equipment we need to run our department and it's been a blessing over the years."