Police and Trust: One Man's Opinion

By Ben Meisner

 Is it a case of the ball being dropped again in the recent incident that took place in Fraser Lake?  The police version is that a local RCMP officer was being choked  when responding to a domestic incident and another resident in the home had to come forward to help.

We should have learned from what occurred in the Kevin St. Arnaud case in Vanderhoof a few miles down the road the importance of having two police officers attend to a call. There was back up available in the Vanderhoof incident, back up was available in this case.

While it is important that police try and prevent injury in carrying out their duties with respect to the person they are arresting, it is equally important that the officer sent out to investigate the matter is adequately protected. Given the recent publicity in the Coroner’s inquest into the Vanderhoof shooting by a police officer, the Fraser Lake officer would have been very aware of the trying not to use lethal force.

What makes this matter more interesting is the fact that, according to the police release, the suspect, a 21 year old Fraser Lake man has a history of physical violence. If that is the case, why then was the officer not informed and back up ordered before entering the home?

Yet another question is this. It took more than one year to investigate the police shooting in the Vanderhoof case in which a police officer shot to death a local man. In the end, it was recommended that no charges be laid against the constable in question. On the other hand, it took less than two days to charge the Fraser Lake man with attempted murder. If the Crown must, "approve charges", then it was done with the speed of light and that will cast a cloud over police investigations in that area.

Added to all this is a comment by a local native man at the inquest into the shooting death of Kevin St. Araund. He said in his testimony that "you don’t fool around with the police out here because bad things can happen to you."

It all points to the need in the Vanderhoof region to try and build a trust between the RCMP and the citizens they serve. The death of St. Arnaud is not the reason for this mistrust that feeling has, for what ever reason, existed for some time.  While it may be shown that last weekend’s events have no bearing on these feelings, it is important for the region to have a look at itself from the inside out.

I’m Meisner and that’s one man’s opinion.
  

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