Once again a community has been left reeling after yet another senseless act of violence. This past weekend two officers with the St. Albert RCMP detachment were shot inside a casino while confronting a suspect about a stolen vehicle.
One of the two officers, Aux. Const. Derek Bond, was released from hospital Saturday night. Const. David Wynn, who was shot in the head while trying to arrest the suspect, is not expected to survive his injuries.
This terrible incident comes after a shoot-out in St. Paul last year wounded three RCMP officers, while in 2012 two officers were also wounded in a shooting in Killam while executing a search warrant. Three other officers were also killed last year in a shooting in Moncton, N.B.
These brave men and women risk their lives every day to protect ours but whose here to protect them? We should be.
According to police, the suspect identified in the shooting that wounded the two RCMP officers in St. Albert, Shawn Rehn, had a “complex criminal history” involving firearms and violence. Somehow this man was walking free and, despite having a weapons prohibition, obviously got access to a gun. RCMP Commissioner Bob Paulson noted over the weekend that there will be an in-depth investigation into what led Rehn to be free.
It seems more and more officers are getting seriously injured or killed while they're out on the streets trying to protect the public. Those out there who criticize police for “over-reacting” or relying on their weapons too much, can you blame them? If someone was threatening your life, I can guarantee we would all react a lot worse than any officer would. Police are still people, they have families. While they may not show it, it's reasonable to believe that sometimes they may be scared for their lives, and when they are in danger they should have the right to protect themselves with reprisal.
Who knows what could have happened in this case, but perhaps if one of the officers had been the first to fire a shot, there wouldn't be a family and community dealing with the fear of losing an important person in their life. Maybe there wouldn't be an officer who will now have to deal with losing his partner for the rest of his life – after overcoming serious injuries himself.
Whether it's harsher punishments for those who harm or attempt to harm officers, something has to be done to better protect those who put their lives on the line to protect the public. Unless you've been in their shoes, none of us can imagine what these brave people go through every day.
I cannot express enough how much I appreciate the work that not just police, but all first responders, do. My thoughts and prayers go out to the families and friends of Const. David Wynn, and Aux. Const. Derek Bond.
