Meet Sebastian Andrews, an N.W.T. supercop with a big heart (and strong arms)

Last weekend during the spring jamboree in Tsiigehtchic, N.W.T., a certain RCMP member turned heads by participating in virtually every activity of the festival.

As one resident remarked, "In the past, officers have sat in their vehicles, done a few foot patrols."

But that wasn't going to cut it for Const. Sebastian Andrews.

"I was happy to be there," said Andrews, who normally works out of the RCMP detachment in Fort McPherson and volunteered to be in Tsiigehtchic for the festival.

Here he is hauling another jamboree festival-goer riding inside a plastic sled …

… and hefting that same woman on his shoulders during a race …

Oh, and here he is getting his hands dirty during a woodcutting competition:

"I've been in the North for almost five years now and I really love jamborees," said Andrews.

"I think it's a great way for us to meet new people, and the games are so much fun."

Launched fitness program in Tuktoyaktuk 

Andrews made a name for himself during his prior posting in Tuktoyaktuk.

There, with the sponsorship of Gatorade, he launched an after-school fitness program called Tuk Power, which regularly attracted groups of 15 to 20 kids to the back of the RCMP garage.

Andrew thinks the program even helped Tuktoyaktuk achieve its zero youth crime rate during his stint. 

"It's almost like they would have been embarrassed to get themselves in trouble because they know they would end up talking to one of us — and we consider them our friends," he said. 

Andrews, who grew up in a poor, inner-city neighbourhood in Buffalo, N.Y., says his approach to policing is partly shaped by his own childhood experience.

"I didn't see much involvement with police," he says. "We didn't get much programs in the society. I said once I joined — and luckily the RCMP were very supportive — that I wanted to give back to the youth."