alexander decoteau

When Alex Decoteau enlisted in the Edmonton Police Department in 1911, he became the first Aboriginal policeman in Canada. Although he was one day promoted to the rank of sergeant, and was the first motorcycle patrolman in the country, Decoteau's career in law enforcement is probably less remembered than his athletic prowess. Decoteau was a cross-country runner who won local [Edmonton] competitions with such regularity that some organizers thought it easier to award him their trophies all the time. He was provincial champion of half-mile, mile, two-mile, three-mile, five-mile, and ten-mile; he even happened to win all four events on the same day. At the 1912 Olympics in Stockholm, Decoteau was the only Albertan on the Canadian team. In April 1916, Alex Decoteau enlisted in the Canadian Army. Eighteen months later, he was killed in action in Passchendaele. He was not yet thirty. In 1967, Alex Decoteau was inducted into the Edmonton Sports Hall of Fame.