An Indigenous police officer who made several positive impacts on the community is retiring at the end of this month. (Facebook/Horace Ratt)

By Teena Monteleone

Cst. Ratt

Cree speaking officer retiring from PA police service after 23 years

Nov 19, 2021 | 5:33 PM

Horace Ratt avoided police officers as a child.

“Usually when we saw them, we took off.”

At the age of 10, Ratt who is originally from Pelican Narrows, was sent to residential school in Prince Albert where he and his friends grew up fearing the police.

“It was a cultural thing stemming back from residential schools when the Indian agents and police would come and round up children for residential schools. As a kid, we were always scared of police,” he said.

So, it may be hard to believe that Ratt is now retiring after a nearly 23-year career with the Prince Albert Police Service (PAPS).

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Constable Horace Ratt became a police officer in 1999 at the age of 24. (Facebook/Horace Ratt)

He was introduced to the profession by a former hockey coach, Dale McFee. McFee was a constable with PAPS at the time and later went on to become the chief of police. He now holds the same position with the Edmonton Police Service.

“He must have seen something in me when I was playing hockey — maybe work ethic or something I didn’t see in myself at the time, because the last thing I had on my mind was becoming a police officer,” Ratt said.

But McFee encouraged Ratt to apply and continued to gently push him to pursue a policing career even though Ratt failed the entrance exam three times.

“My message is don’t be discouraged if you fail a test. Overcome the obstacle and push through and challenge yourself to see how you can improve. The biggest thing for me is to be part of your community and help out where you can.”

Ratt started policing in 1999 at the age of 24. He spent his entire career as a constable, preferring to be on the front line of calls, dealing with people on the streets. Being able to speak Cree fluently was a daily asset and one the police service will miss when Ratt retires at the end of this month. Ratt said there are no other fluent Cree speaking officers currently on staff.

“It has helped to deescalate a lot of stressful situations. If they can see and hear that you speak Cree you can talk to them in their first language and they are more at ease. A lot of people seek out to talk to me specifically when they have questions about the law. There are lots of benefits being a Cree speaking Indigenous officer — people look at me and see that I probably grew up in similar circumstances as them.”

While Ratt said PAPS does an excellent job of incorporating cultural awareness initiatives, he hopes to see more Indigenous people on staff and encouraged them to apply, particularly ones who can speak Cree and Dene languages fluently.

Ratt spent part of his career as a crisis negotiator. (Facebook/Horace Ratt)

Ratt said being a crisis negotiator is among his career highlights. He spoke about attending calls at the train bridge where he worked to help end emergency situations peacefully.

“Guiding people in crisis off the bridge to help them or even being there just to listen was the biggest thing at times,” he said.

But Ratt also helps with the little things. While on patrol, he can often be seen doing tasks he doesn’t have to — like helping elderly residents shovel their walkways or picking up litter on Central Avenue late at night. He also carries extra mitts and toques in his patrol car for the homeless.

“If I can give some comfort and make them feel they still have respect, I’ll do that. It’s just being personable and treating them like human beings in their time of need,” Ratt said. “I believe in good karma as well, so, if you’re showing good things to people maybe it will come back around. I just ask that people who I help, help others in return when they need it.”

Prince Albert Police Chief Jon Bergen and Ratt started their careers around the same time. Bergen said Ratt always had a positive way of connecting with others and an ability to quickly diffuse tense situations.

“His knowledge and ability to speak fluent Cree was always an asset to our service, and I appreciate the pride and commitment he demonstrated throughout his career. He has always been a compassionate and thoughtful member of our service who not only protected the community but could often be found lending a hand to keep our community clean, or providing hand warmers and clothing to those less fortunate. Cst. Ratt was committed to visible policing and professional service and we will miss his proactive efforts on patrol. I want to wish Horace all the best as he embarks on this new chapter of his life, and offer my sincere thanks for his years of dedicated and professional service to our community,” Bergen said.

Ratt would like to see more Indigenous people pursue a career in policing. (Facebook/Horace Ratt)

Ratt hasn’t decided what he’ll do after retirement, other than spend more time with his family and continue volunteering with his children’s lacrosse teams — a sport they all share a passion for.

In the meantime, he’ll spend his last few weeks as a constable with the PAPS doing the things he’s always done — serving and protecting with care and compassion.

“Policing is a very difficult job and it is easy to criticize police for what they do or the lack of what they’re doing, especially if you haven’t walked in their shoes. We deal with people at their baddest, maddest and saddest. It’s a challenging career.”

Ratt official retires on Nov. 30.

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Teena.Monteleone@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @MonteleoneTeena