Campbell River driver key to bank robber apprehension

On the afternoon of June 2, Doug Gallant was driving his Route 2 Alder bus southbound along Dogwood when another driver radioed that something big was happening, with several police cruisers speeding towards downtown Campbell River. At the time, Doug had no idea that within the next hour local police would be marching a robbery suspect off his bus.

According to an RCMP statement, a masked man entered the Bank of Montreal on Shoppers Row and produced a note demanding money from a teller. The suspect was given a substantial amount of cash and fled the bank on foot, with witnesses saying they saw him changing clothes a short distance away.

Doug Gallant was sitting at a red light at 11^th Avenue and Cedar Street when he saw several RCMP vehicles fly through the light and broke off in different directions.

“I knew something big was happening, and when I pulled up to my next stop in front of the Community Centre, the third person to get on my bus had a nervous, anxious, sweatiness to him,” said Doug Gallant. “He was dressed in full camouflage and had a bandana covering most of his face. He said his wallet had just gotten stolen so he didn’t have his Compass pass or bus fare with him. Well, having driven in this town for almost 11 years, if someone had a Compass pass I would recognize them, which I definitely didn’t.”

Doug let the man on his bus without paying and carried on his route, which took him right past the Bank of Montreal as it was swarming with officers. The man sat close to the front, and as they made their way out of the downtown area, Doug was curious so he started chatting him up. The conversation was a little awkward, and when another driver radioed that police had the dogs out and were looking for someone, Doug started to put two and two together and decided to act.

“I got off the bus with my phone at a stop on Erickson and the guy followed me off. He asked if I was staying there for a few minutes because he wanted to grab something from the gas station, and I told him I’d wait for him. As soon as he walked away I called the RCMP and gave them his description. Based on how urgently the operator put my call through, I knew he was the guy.”

The police confirmed the description, but because their units were all downtown they were about 10 minutes away. The man came out of the store and while Doug was on the phone with RCMP, the suspect kept coming up to talk to him. Gallant decided at that point that if he got on the bus, the man would likely follow him, and that’s what happened.

The man began talking with one of the other passengers, and Doug could see an RCMP cruiser pull over a little ways up the road across the street. The officer on the phone told him more were on the way, and it wasn’t long before police had set up a perimeter around the bus.

“At that point, it was like a scene out of a movie. There were RCMP officers everywhere and it was extremely well coordinated. Officers walked on the bus, said something to him that I couldn’t hear, and he stood up and turned around so they could handcuff him and walk him off the bus. They searched the bus and the area around it, got a statement from me about what happened, and I was on my way. As I was driving back to the yard I just thought, did that really happen?”

Doug managed to remain calm throughout the entire situation and trusted his instincts, which is likely one of the main reasons the suspect was detained peacefully with no threat or harm to others. The following day he spoke to an officer, who shook Doug’s hand and thanked him for his actions.

“Mr. Gallant’s observations and awareness of what was going on in his community were instrumental in taking the suspect into custody without incident,” said Campbell River RCMP Constable Maury Tyre. “Mr. Gallant trusted his instincts when he saw something suspicious and made all the right choices. We can’t thank him enough for his efforts.”