MOOSEJAWTODAY.COM — It took police Const. Chris Flanagan nearly 32 hours to fly to Thailand recently, but the voyage was worth it because he celebrated the 35th anniversary of his father’s death.
“It was a long flight … . I didn’t realize how far it is,” he said with a chuckle during the recent Board of Police Commissioners’ meeting.
Cpl. Derek Flanagan was an RCMP officer for 15 years and was with the organization’s drug investigation unit in Vancouver, B.C. He and other members travelled to Chiang Mai, Thailand, in February 1989 during an overseas undercover drug operation and were meeting with sellers on Feb. 20 when the situation fell apart.
Derek was thrown from the back of a truck and died from head trauma. He then became the only active RCMP member to be killed in the line of duty overseas.
Chris was four years old when his father died and focused on becoming an officer as well.
The opportunity to travel overseas arose in November 2023 after the RCMP’s E Division (British Columbia) approached the Moose Jaw officer about flying to Chiang Mai for a ceremony to honour his father. E Division members had travelled there in February 2023 and discovered there was no memorial to Cpl. Flanagan anywhere in the city.
Flanagan accompanied three senior officers with E Division during the eight-day trip to Thailand, with the RCMP covering all his expenses.
“Knowing where he (died) in Thailand, it had always been a dream of mine to go see where it happened. I’m just grateful (I had) … this opportunity,” he said.
The emotionally moving memorial service — “they rolled out the red carpet” — was held on Feb. 20 at the Royal Thai Police Headquarters in Chiang Mai, with the ceremony featuring a tree planting and installation of a commemorative plaque.
Others who attended included RCMP liaison officers from Thailand and Malaysia, the Canadian ambassador, the colonel-general of the Royal Thai Police, Thai border service agents and a Royal Canadian Air Force officer.
Flanagan also enjoyed tea with government officials beforehand.
The temperature was 34 degrees Celsius, and while Flanagan was honoured to bring his formal police tunic, he jokingly noted that “those things aren’t cool” to wear and that he was hot and sweaty.
“Me being a father of four, I was quite honoured to be there for my father as well … ,” he said, noting he connected with his mother and brother immediately afterward using FaceTime. He also thought this event was a full-circle moment since it celebrated how tremendous Derek was as an officer, father, husband and friend.
“It’s something I take great pride in, wearing the badge and knowing that he sacrificed his life doing the job that I’m currently doing,” the MJPS member added. “It leaves me speechless.”
Besides the ceremony, Flanagan joined the RCMP at the International Narcotics Control College (INCC) in Chiang Rai. The college trains law enforcement agents and partner groups to combat drug trafficking in the Mekong subregion. He later sat through a prisoner extradition meeting in Bangkok.
He also joined the Royal Thai Navy on a boat patrol of the busy Mekong River, which is 4,300 kilometres long and located in the “infamous Golden Triangle.” This region connects Thailand, Burma (Myanmar) and Laos and is one of the largest drug trafficking areas in the world of meth and opium.
Flanagan noted that meth, when combined with caffeine, forms a pill called Yaba, or the “madness drug.” To combat this scourge, the country uses TikTok to reach kids with its anti-drug campaigns because school presentations fail to work.
One of his final activities was visiting the Tham Luang cave, where a Thai soccer team became trapped in 2018 after it flooded.
“For myself, it was a very humbling experience to be there. I was very honoured to attend,” said Flanagan, adding he was jetlagged the entire time and barely slept but still thought it was a fantastic trip.
The next police board meeting is Wednesday, April 10.
