PEI police officer apologizes to Nickelback for Facebook post

A police officer in Prince Edward Island is issuing a public apology to Alberta’s own Nickelback for suggesting he’ll make impaired drivers listen to the music as punishment.

He has since deleted the original post.

“At the time I thought this was a great idea, all pure intentions, get the message out …. type type … click …. and post. There. All done.” he wrote. “Well, as we have seen, our little post became an international story. And somewhere in the noise, the message of Don’t Drink and Drive was overshadowed by negativity.”

Constable Robb Hartlen says he began to feel like a bully and couldn’t enter an elementary school to talk about bullying when he had been guilty of the same thing.

“That prompted me to think less about Nickelback as the ‘Entity’ and more about the 4 guys, 4 human beings from Alberta who were dragged into this international story. And the more I thought about that, the less funny the humour seemed.”

Hartlen says he was also stunned to be accused of making light of drinking and driving.

“I am sorry to Chad, Ryan, Mike and Daniel. Not just as members of Nickelback, but more importantly as fellow Canadians. I’m sorry guys because I didn’t take a moment to think of you AS just guys. Having to watch as media around the world takes a pot shot at you and having no way to defend yourself. I didn’t take a moment to think of your families.”

The police officer says he has reached out to Nickelback and offered his personal apologies and will continue to advocate against drinking and driving.

They’re planning to launch a new anti-drunk driving message and they’ve asked readers to “stay tuned.”