"The Main Guy": The RCMP Constable Who Booked Clifford Olson Recalls the 1981 Arrest (CHEK News, 2011)

Name: "The Main Guy": The RCMP Constable Who Booked Clifford Olson Recalls the 1981 Arrest (CHEK News, 2011)
Uploaded: 2011-10-04T00:00:00Z
Duration: 3 min 5 s
Description: Thirty years on, the Ucluelet RCMP constable who breathalyzed and booked Clifford Olson describes the night of the arrest, and the note warning him that this was "the main guy" in the child homicides.

Thirty years on, the Ucluelet RCMP constable who breathalyzed and booked Clifford Olson describes the night of the arrest, and the note warning him that this was "the main guy" in the child homicides.

Subject: Clifford Robert Olson
Recorded: about September 21, 2011
Runtime: 3:05

Content warning: Refers to the murders of 11 children and young people; no graphic detail.

The Interview

This is not an interview with Clifford Olson, who is not heard. It is a three-minute report by CHEK News of Victoria, British Columbia, broadcast in September 2011, 30 years after Olson's arrest on Vancouver Island. A former RCMP constable who breathalyzed and booked Olson at the Ucluelet detachment in August 1981 describes that night, and other local speakers, not named in the audio, recall the arrest and its effect. The report shows the cell where Olson was held, the logging road where he was stopped, and the 1981 arrest card.

Historical Context

Between November 1980 and July 1981 Clifford Olson murdered 11 children and young people, aged 9 to 18, in the Lower Mainland of British Columbia. He was arrested on August 12, 1981, and charged with the murder of Judy Kozma by August 25. Under a disputed agreement in which the RCMP paid $10,000 per victim into a trust for his wife, he confessed and led police to remains. In January 1982 he pleaded guilty to 11 counts of murder and was sentenced on January 14, 1982, to concurrent life terms; the judge said he should never be paroled. He died of cancer in custody on September 30, 2011, aged 71.

Circumstances

The report marked the 30th anniversary of the arrest and was probably broadcast on September 21, 2011 (the date in the uploader's description). Olson was then terminally ill; he died nine days later, and CHEK posted the report on October 4, 2011. The closing remark that his death "will allow for some closure" anticipates it.

What the Recording Covers

The former constable calls Olson "a coward", "a monster" and "a piece of garbage", and recalls telling him he would be out of jail soon. The reporter describes the RCMP surveillance: officers watched Olson pick up two female hitchhikers in Nanaimo and moved in on the Maggie Lake logging road, about 5 kilometers east of the Tofino-Ucluelet junction, when they saw him drinking with them. A speaker says Olson had been a suspect in the missing children's case but was arrested for impaired driving. The constable describes the plainclothes officers bringing Olson in, removing his handcuffs at his request and calling him "Cliff", until another officer passed him a note: "Don't say too much. We think this is the main guy in all the homicides of young children in Greater Vancouver." The report shows the arrest card, which notes Major Crimes assisting on a secret file.

What Makes the Recording Significant

It preserves the recollection of the junior officer who dealt with Olson on the night of his final arrest, including the note that told him who his prisoner was, recorded days before Olson's death.

Archival Importance

A report from the Vancouver Island station that covered the arrest area, posted on its own channel.

Important Caveats

Olson is not heard or seen speaking, and this is a 2011 report, not footage from 1981. The officer's surname is heard only once and its spelling is not verified; he and the other speakers are not named in the audio. That the arrest was for impaired driving is the speakers' account; other sources say he was arrested on suspicion of attempting to abduct the two hitchhikers, who are not named and must not be named. "Two previous 1981 arrests" is the reporter's statement and has not been checked. "Days later Olson began confessing to 11 child murders" compresses events: his confessions followed the payment agreement, and several of his victims were teenagers aged up to 18. The opinions about Olson are the speakers' own.

Chek Anchor: It was exactly 30 years ago last month that Clifford Olson's killing spree came to an end with his arrest on the island. Today many in Ucluelet and Tofino still remember the day Canada's most notorious serial killer was caught. Kristen Robinson reports.

Former Rcmp Constable: I personally think Clifford Olson is a coward, and he's a monster, and he's a piece of garbage.

Kristen Robinson: Strong words from the RCMP officer who was tasked with breathalyzing Clifford Robert Olson inside the Ucluelet RCMP detachment 30 years ago.

Former Rcmp Constable: I explained to him that we'd put him in jail, we'd figure everything out, and, um, you know, he'd be out soon, and, uh, he didn't quite make it.

Kristen Robinson: This was the end of the road for serial killer Clifford Robert Olson. On August 12, 1981, a 41-year-old Olson was booked into Ucluelet RCMP cells. This is what the cell Olson was lodged in looked like back then.

Local Speaker: [unclear: "He was a very feared guy" / "It was a very weird guy"], and then all of a sudden we heard that he was in our backyard.

Kristen Robinson: After two previous 1981 arrests saw him released, it was down the Maggie Lake logging road, about 5 kilometers east of the Tofino-Ucluelet junction, where Canada's most notorious serial killer was nabbed for good. Under surveillance, RCMP watched Olson arrive on Vancouver Island and pick up two female hitchhikers in Nanaimo. When he turned down this road, RCMP moved in when they saw him drinking with the two women.

Speaker: They had to spring the trap because of the safety of these two female hitchhikers that were in the car. He had been a suspect in the, uh, in the missing children's case, uh, but, uh, when they arrested him it wasn't for that offense, it was for, uh, impaired driving.

Former Rcmp Constable: Five or six, um, plainclothes cops came in with Clifford Olson, who was a short, fat, dumpy guy, and who was handcuffed. And, uh, so he sat down, and, um, we did the breathalyzer thing. He asked if he could be unhandcuffed, and, you know, I didn't know what it was about. I said sure, and I unhandcuffed him, and I was calling him Cliff, and we got along great.

Kristen Robinson: Constable [unclear: "Zabersky's" / "Zab's"] name is engraved on Olson's 1981 Ucluelet arrest card, which details the alleged offense and also notes Major Crimes was assisting on a secret file.

Former Rcmp Constable: At that point one of the fellows came over and passed a note to me, and said, the note said, "Don't say too much. We think this is the main guy in all the homicides of young children in Greater Vancouver," which shocked me.

Kristen Robinson: Days later Olson began confessing to 11 child murders.

Speaker: This Clifford Olson saga has been a sore that has festered for 30 years, just his antics, and it's, it's been a sore that's never been allowed to heal. Um, at least his death will allow for some closure. [03:04 to 03:05: no further speech; clip ends.] ---