Just a question? When did it become in fashion to, before all the facts are in, assume the RCMP guilty of wrong doing.
On Boxing Day, at about 10 p.m., Whitecourt RCMP members stopped a suspected stolen vehicle.
After stopping, the suspect, along with the passenger decided to flee the scene, hitting two marked RCMP cars in the process.
It was at this time, according to the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT), when the two RCMP members then fired their guns numerous times.
The suspect and his passenger then fled into a residential neighbourhood where their vehicle collided with a civilian car.
RCMP then arrested the vehicle’s occupants and they were both taken to hospital after receiving relatively minor injuries.
Luke Louis Kock, 30, of no fixed address, has been charged with three counts of assault with a weapon (vehicle) to a police officer, and one count each of flight from police, dangerous operation of a motor vehicle, possession of stolen property over $5,000, and two provincial violations.
Even though ASIRT is still investigating, interviewing witnesses, the RCMP members themselves, etc., if you read the majority of the comments posted on social media, or news gathering sites, it seems there are many people out there who have already decided the RCMP members involved are guilty.
That once again the RCMP have overreacted to a situation or abused their power by using unjustified force.
The comments from the Dec. 26 incident are similar to those people posted on social media sites after a man in Slocan, B.C. shot at police in October.
In the Slocan incident the RCMP were called out to investigate a loud dispute between two neighbours. When the RCMP arrived one of the neighbours shot at police and then fled into the bush. The police then blockaded the town and asked residents to stay indoors. Eventually, the incident ended when the RCMP found the suspect hiding in a secluded cabin in the woods. Unfortunately, the incident ended with the RCMP fatally shooting the suspect.
One of the benefits of being a member of the media in a small town is that you get to interact with the members of the RCMP on regular basis. Not only officially, but just as people in the community. We see them in the grocery store and write stories about their children who play on the high school basketball team.
Trust us when we say the great majority of RCMP are wonderful people who are just trying to do their jobs, sometimes in very stressful situations. Was the two RCMP members’ response in Whitecourt appropriate? Hopefully so. An independent ASIRT investigation will determine that, but in the meanwhile let’s give them the benefit of the doubt and not just automatically jump on the RCMP bashing bandwagon.
