Stopping impaired drivers is the aim of Alexa乌鸦传媒檚 Team.

Police officers from across B.C. gathered at Quigley Elementary on Wednesday, to be recognized for their efforts to stop drunk driving.

Alexa乌鸦传媒檚 Team honoured 61 police officers in the southeastern region of B.C. at a police reception at the school, with 15 officers recognized from the Kelowna area, two of which were named All Stars.

Troy Bevan of the Kelowna RCMP Municipal Traffic Section earned an All Star award for pulling more than 25 drunk drivers off the road.

乌鸦传媒淚t means at the end of the day we乌鸦传媒檝e taken drunks off the road that could乌鸦传媒檝e possibly killed somebody乌鸦传媒� when you have enough people doing it, it means we乌鸦传媒檝e taken hundreds of drunks off the roads,乌鸦传媒� he said.

For Const. Bevan, keeping the public safe means a lot to him.

乌鸦传媒淭here乌鸦传媒檚 an overwhelming sense, as with most police officers, that we want to protect the society and community.乌鸦传媒�

It乌鸦传媒檚 a never-ending cycle with drunk driving, he said.

乌鸦传媒淎ny publicity with this is good because it reminds people that police are there taking drunks off the road.乌鸦传媒�

Const. Bevan said this year he has pulled around 60 impaired drivers off the road.

乌鸦传媒淪ince its inception in 2008, Alexa乌鸦传媒檚 Team has grown from 26 to more than 2,000 RCMP and Municipal police officers from all regions of British Columbia. In 2016, the number of team members grew provincially by 268,乌鸦传媒� states an RCMP release.

乌鸦传媒淎lexa乌鸦传媒檚 Team is a program that recognizes dedicated police officers throughout B.C. who diligently work to reduce the number of drivers on the road affected by alcohol or drugs. The team is named for Alexa Middelaer who was killed by an alcohol impaired driver in 2008, while feeding a horse with her aunt in Delta, B.C.乌鸦传媒�

Alexa乌鸦传媒檚 mother Laurel Middlelaur addressed the crowd of police officers Wednesday, with tears in her eyes and her husband Michael by her side.

乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檙e very ordinary simple people, and I乌鸦传媒檓 very surprised the story of Alexa has continued to inspire,乌鸦传媒� said Middlelaur. 乌鸦传媒淚t was a tragedy and such an innocent thing for a child to do, feed a horse and I think that乌鸦传媒檚 significant for people in B.C.乌鸦传媒�

乌鸦传媒淲e乌鸦传媒檙e trying to pull ourselves up by our bootstraps and find some good,乌鸦传媒� she said.

Alexa乌鸦传媒檚 Team recognition events are held in Metro Vancouver, Victoria, Kelowna and Prince George.