There is something extremely wrong here. This goes way beyond to serve and protect. Once again the RCMP are investigating themselves. Why not just hire Jean Chretien for their lawyer? I just know when it's over I will be reading the results with my mouth agape.

Mike

My heart goes out to the family and everyone involved in this tragic incident. What confuses me is why i everyone, public and media included, assuming that the RCMP member was in the wrong, and that there is some deep dark conspiracy to cover it up? I am not making up my mind until I hear the results of the investigations of the RCMP and the Coroner's Office. We are all inncocent in the country until proven guilty.... so why doesn that not seem to extend to the RCMP member in this case. Peopel have made up their minds in advance and thats too bad

I do not believe that everybody has made up their mind either to blame the RCMP or to blame Bush. On this discussion site there have been comments posted which could be put into pro-RCMP, pro-Bush and concerned neutral groups. I believe that most people are in the last group and are waiting to hear the evidence before making up their minds.

Having said that there are some serious questions, and asking them is not anti-RCMP, It is our duty as citizens in a free society. We give the police forces extraordinary powers, but it is only for them to protect our society and for no other reason. Like any extraordinary power in any select group's hands, it is open to abuse. When something like this happens, it would be absolutely and negligently stupid of us not to question it. We are obliged to do so. Refusing to question, and instead just assuming that the police officer was justified has, in the past in other jurisdictions, had catastrophic consequences. I don't want those consequences in Canada.

It is quite possible that the police officer was justified. If so he can explain why that is the case, just like any other person who kills someone has to. Being a police officer does not give him an automatic pass. Taking a life is the most serious event possible and must not be glossed over as inconsequential. As to how he is being treated, as a police officer he is already being treated differently than any other citizen under these circumstances, since he is not in custody as I would be if I had killed someone with a gun. Not a single person has called for him to be jailed while the investigation is being conducted, so society is indeed according him significant recognition of his right to be seen as innocent until proven guilty.

Part of the problem for many of us is that the original information from the police contained critical comments of Bush. Those were uncalled for, and simply raised a red flag. Why were those criticisms necessary? Why were the RCMP so quick off the mark to malign Bush? Why was an investigation not conducted before the victim was maligned? This knee jerk reaction simply raises the question (not proving it) that something is being hidden. Perhaps it is not, but then the police should not have made comments which, for many of us, raise the cynical suspicion that it may be. Couple that with the failure to record the events, that the bullet entered behind the ear and there were no witnesses (apparently), then surely we have a situation where we must have serious questions if we are at all thinking persons.

Well said Ammonra.