I love guns, and as a proud and responsible owner of multiple firearms I want to bring to light something about the current situation our city is currently going through. Saturday morning a person known to the authorities for past criminal activity and who had been added to a list of people who are not legally permitted to possess firearms shot two of our civic heroes in an act of cowardice. Volunteer Aux. Const. Derek Walter Bond, 49, was unarmed and accompanying Const. David Mathew Wynn, 42. Both of these men were shot by a man they were not even looking for. Wynn was shot before even having a chance to make a move for his firearm and Bond was shot immediately after. All this happened because two men, two fathers, two husbands, two sons, chose to go to work Friday night, walked into a casino to investigate a report of a stolen car and now one of them is dead.
We forget just how often these officers put themselves in harm’s way to protect us. When they get injured in the line of duty we look at it for a moment and gather as a nation to mourn but only for a moment. We forget all too quickly that every moment those men and women are at work their life is at risk. The young officer who pulled you over for speeding is approaching your vehicle walking alongside traffic on a busy road and doesn't know if when he gets to your window you will have a gun, or drugs, or you are drunk, or simply you are late to get home to dinner. It doesn't matter to him that every time he approaches us he is risking his life, yet we never take the time to think about him.
Most of us obey the law, most of the time, but when we don't and get caught we need to learn to take our punishment. I got pulled over by a young officer when I was much younger and he was very angry with me. I took it personally, I never thought for a minute that he might be on the last day of a rotation and his wife went into labour early so now he has just missed the birth of his first child, all to write some teenager a speeding ticket and get disrespected by that kid. These men and women are people.
We don't think of these heroes as people when they put on the uniform, some of us think of them as the enemy, we introduce unnecessary conflict, we push the limit of what is allowed just because we can – and this needs to change. If at any point in your day a stranger may walk up to you and put a bullet in you, taking you away from our world, taking you away from your children, your wife, and your parents, would you not appreciate a little more respect from the people who cause minor inconveniences throughout your day so they can be dealt with quickly and move on to dealing with more important threats. No cop wants to stand on the side of the road in -20 weather to write you a ticket for going 20-km over in a blizzard. When she pulls you over to correct your action and potentially save your life, a minivan may roll in her response area, she could have been first on scene and saved the life of an injured child. Yet here she is – fur-lined parka, ice building on her face, having to ask you to roll the window down when she gets to your car. The least we could do is show the respect of being ready.
I spoke with a very close friend of mine today, he is one of these everyday heroes – a random face to you but very important to me. I know his wife and children, I got to be there the moment he found out he was going to have a son. I am thankful every day for the risks my friend takes yet a day does not go by that I don't have a small worry in the back of my mind about him or any of the other thousands of men and women who are putting their lives at risk every day – not for their well-being but for mine.
What can I do to help the next time I get pulled over to help the officer who is approaching me with understandable caution?
1. Pull over promptly and when it is safe to do so. If you know there is a pullout coming up where it would minimize the risk to the officer turn on your four ways and slow your speed to indicate you are aware and complying
2. Have your driver’s licence and proof of registration ready when he arrives at your window
3. Window down, interior light on, radio off
4. Keep your hands visible and make no movements unless asked to do so
For example: You didn't manage to get your registration out before the officer got to your window – don't reach for your glovebox or into your backpack until asked for it. You don't have a weapon but the officer doesn't know it
5. Don't argue, don't lie. I've never been pulled over without a valid reason, and you probably haven't either
6. Be polite and take your punishment
7. Drive away calmly and know that because you didn't take up any extra time, that officer may make it to a domestic disturbance in time.
If those of us who want to live in a safer world would allow the police to do what they are meant to, enforce the law, we would. Whether we agree with that law or not, just like a carpenter building a house, he puts the walls where the blue-prints tell him to he does not just decide as he goes. A police officer has a duty to uphold the law and protect the safety of the citizens, they may not agree with every one of those laws but they are responsible to uphold them.
Thanks for listening.
Mark Tucker, St. Albert
