(JENNIFER STAHN / iNFOnews.ca)
June 13, 2014 - 7:40 AM
It is our role to question those who hold power, to hold them accountable for what they say and do and that includes police.
But this week that evaporated as we stood by our RCMP members in honouring three Moncton officers who died in the line of duty on June 4.
Those in attendance Tuesday afternoon not only honoured the three Moncton officers, Const. Fabrice Georges Gevaudan, Const. Douglas James Larche and Const. Dave Joseph Ross, who died last week, they were also remembering those three Kamloops mounties killed many years ago.
It was a chilling reminder of a day 52 years ago in Kamloops when three officers were killed by George Booth in Peterson Creek Park. Const. Joe Keck, Const. Gord Pedersen and Const. Donald Weisgerber were killed on June 18, 1962 when Booth unexpectedly turned his rifle on them.
It was hard not to get caught up in the emotion of the memorial. Nearly three dozen RCMP officers in red serge marched down the roads surrounding the Kamloops RCMP detachment, stoic and professional and by all outward appearances, unemotional. But the catch in the voice of those speaking was hard to miss and the moments shared afterwards with officers determined to reach out and embrace their loved ones did not go unnoticed.
But the image that will stay with me is when two officers stood by the wall of honour after most of the crowd of nearly 300 had dispersed. They stood side by side, dressed in their official red serge, and then embraced in a moment of tears.
Officers are real people, with real emotion, facing real risk to protect us on a daily basis and rarely get so much as a ‘good job’ for the tough work they do.
So from the bottom of my heart, thank you to all the RCMP officers. Thank you for making our community safer and helping to make this a community I am proud to raise my daughter in.
To contact a reporter, email Jennifer Stahn at jstahn@infotelnews.ca or call 250-819-3723. To contact an editor, email mjones@infotelnews.ca or call 250-718-2724.
News from © iNFOnews, 2014