Oh boy, here we go again. Prince George is getting to be a scary place to live. And before I open my big mouth I'll just wait to see which direction this story takes. I think my fellow 250 ers are probably thinking the same thing as I.

At the risk of sounding a little crass, I think we're very safe around here as long as we avoid:

- Driving during bad weather
- Hitchhiking
- The hard drug scene
- Being confrontational with rookie cops

Other than sometimes the driving, we tend to have the control to avoid the rest. I never personally feel concerned about random violence here. I did so occasionally when I lived in Vancouver.

That all being said, why no story here about the driveby shooting incident in Quesnel Sunday morning?

Qtown, why would you be confrontational with a cop, rookie or otherwise anyway?

Sometimes it's the rookie that's confrontational...with all their new powers, with some it just goes to their heads...I respect the police...but as in all groups there is always a few ignorant ones.

Oh terrible about death :( Oh snappi I didnt want to say it out loud but I know what you mean. So hard to say what it was. Man I want my kids to stay this age forever.

This story should take almost three years. The justice system here obviously has a very big "in basket". Plus we gotta get those wheels of justice outa the mud again, to start them rolling. I hope I haven't offended anyone with these remarks. (That was a butt saving disclaimer, folks) Can't be too careful these days, eh?

I hear ya Heidi, I'm so glad that my kids are all grown up but now I have 4 grandbabies to worry about.
And Qtown, I guess after living in Vancouver anywhere would feel safer, but believe me PG isn't safe anymore. Start asking around, count the people that have gone missing here over the past 20 years...its only getting worse. Oh and btw the Quesnel incident has been posted.

lmorg, I don't suggest being confrontational with a cop ever, no more than I'm suggesting you start a Meth habit. But I'm saying it's inordinately dangerous to test your luck with new cops, especially in the north.

2 incidents and now its the north as a whole? Like there haven't been incidents like this elsewhere? Not to mention the police brutality by young and old members alike. Hmmm

2 incidents and now its the north as a whole? Like there haven't been incidents like this elsewhere? Not to mention the police brutality by young and old members alike. Hmmm

oops!

Why would you want to "Test your luck" with the cops in the first place? Their job is difficult enough without being "Tested" by local nitwits.

Troll,

did he said test them in a bad way.

Maybe not giving the cop the answer he wants is "testing his patience" ?

Who knows.... but its not beyond reason that a trigger happy cop could possibly shoot someone just because they did not like hearing the truth, since they wanted another answer.

Have you considered the 1,000 things that could "test" a grumpy, power tripping cop?

I had one royaly freak out on me for speeding when he pulled me over a few years back.
He was at the top of Peden hil and got me for 76 kms/hr in the 60 zone.
He was way to pissed off and angry considering all i did was speed a little.
I reported him for being out of control and verbally abusive for just a speeding ticket.
He was not young, just a jerk.
I drive a lot, and likely get a speeding ticket say on average every 3 years.
Well I got one again this past winter.
I was tense as could be thinking back to my last encounter with a cop 3 years before on peden hill.
But what a pleasant surprise....this guy was as nice as can be.
He chatted away, talked about sledding since he could see my mountain cat in the box of my truck.
Just real pleasant!
He took my lic and reg....came back a few minutes later with my ticket, and wished me a good day.
Then as I was about to drive away told me to be sure and back in when parking anywhere, so its harder to get the sled stolen out of my truck.
That is more what I expect, not the harsh treatment I got the time before....it was hard for me at first to be chatty to this cop...why?
Because the last one was so bad it left a very bad impression in me of what a cop will be like for just merely speeding.
So what "tests" a cop? Its different for every cop....but being verbally abuled for driving 16 over, and then really verbally abused for taking a moment to find my registration in the glove box, and then it escalating because the plastic envelope i kept it in from the insurance company carried two years worth and OMG then ordered out of my vehicle for being difficult bcause i handed him 2 years worth...and on, and on........
I obviously tested him, and still have no idea how.
He was just miserable and it seemed anything i did would be bad.
When I commented that i have always just kept putting my new reg in with my old, he freaked and told me to learn to organize my papers, and basically belittled me.
Makes me wonder what treatment I may have gotten if say I had a signal lite out, or a cracked windshield or some other serious offense?

My opinion on the topic.

Nice comment McFly. It's so nice to hear about the officer doing his job with a little respect for a fellow man. I almost wonder if the officers with the bad tempers had a tramatic incident happen and they didn't deal with it properly or at all with a good councellor? It's hard to find reasons why but maybe that's what we need to be doing. I dont' even want to think about the cops on the streets who've taken a life and how they'll behave on the streets now. I wish we'd hurry up and get to the real root of the problem. Glad the last one turned out good for you McFly :).

Qtown: You are inordinately mistaken. There is no corelation between being a cop in the north as opposed to being one in the lower mainland in terms of agressiveness. You must have lived all of your life in the north, maybe? All I can say is that you haven't seen the boys at work for VPD...now they can be confrontational. Most rookie cops are very non confrontational because they are used to taking the verbal abuse of their drill instructors from training. However, when you have about 5 years under their belts, that's when the pressures of being in police work tend to build up. They either learn to cope and be a little more laid back in their approach to the public or they don't and explode.....

It only makes sense that police officers will have a range of attitudes and will be in a range of moods. However, I really think we ought to cut them some moer slack than the average joe. I have been poorly treated by cashiers, rug cleaners and people who owed me money. I think it is safe to say few of these had as much reason to be grouchy as your average cop. I am not making excuses for bad behaviour, just saying it is only human.
I do know some traffic cops who get frustrated and angry with the attitudes of many motorists. Top of the list i would say is the attitude that it is rediculous that the 'donut eating cop has nothing better to do than give me a ticket" . Some people even have the audacity (and stupidity) to tell the cop that. Try telling your mechanic to get back to work and stop eating so many donuts and see how far your car goes. People, if you are speeding, you are breaking the law. Take your ticket with humility and grace as you are in the wrong and dont get mad at the cop who is : A doing his job and B: probably a little exasperated at the flippant attitude some people have for traffic violations. If we do this then we are likely to have fewer unpleasant experiences ourselves.
I have never found giving a cop an answer he didnt like to be dangerous. There is a difference between that and , say lieing to him, which can be obstruction. No, there isnt a reason to confront a cop in a threatening manner. No, it is not dangerous to deal with cops here in the north. Regardless of the outcomes of the two investigations, two incidents do not make a trend.

No lmorg, I don't think I'm inordinately mistaken. Read the beginning of this thread and you can see I've lived in Vancouver. Of course I am generalizing and this means there are lots of holes in this argument, but we do suffer in the North for a number of reasons.

Mostly its boredom and unhappiness with their new assignment and location. I've known and talked with lots of new(ish) cops who have been assigned to northern towns and have experienced culture shock. Not that many rookie policemen want to be here.

Experienced cops who move here are more often making (at least partially) a voluntary choice, and this manifests itself in a better experience for all.

Like I said earlier, I'm not suggesting this is always true. But if you don't think that.

As far as the VPD goes, perhaps it's just my demographic. I never had any reason to even remotely cross paths with the VPD. They have their crosses to bear, and I know they have even been notoriously brutal towards street drug users. But generally they are busy with gangs, organized crime and petty drug users.

Here in Quesnel, the street police are often bored and socially repressed. If you are a male, look under 30 and drive a sports car or a big truck, you WILL be targetted. When I take out my summer car with it's window tinting and its sports mags, patrolmen will GLARE at me and often tail me. Assume what you will that I've done something to deserve this, or I've pissed on their Cherios someday in the past, but I can assure you it's simply not the case.

As much as I (and perhaps you as well) prefer to live in rural BC, you are fooling yourself if you think that most professionals don't vastly prefer cities like Victoria, Kamloops and Kelowna.

It's the cops that are having to "do their time" in the boonies and deal with ignorant beatnik caribooers who give way too much back talk and take way too much time pulling out their registration that are the problem.

eeewwww ouch.

All these RCMP officers know that they have to put in time in different communities whether large or small before they even start their training. If thats all it takes to "piss them off" maybe they should have considered another line of work. I have a very high stress job also but if I have any issues they stay at home, I certainly don't take them out on fellow employees or anyone else I work with. You seem to be such an authority on this topic, how is that Qtown?

Oh I almost forgot to mention your comment about the "ignorant beatnik caribooers"...we won't even get into what category you just put yourself into. What a sad life for you.

Um i thik you misinterpreted that last part of his post there snappi. For my part i agree with Qtown as far as the transfer thing goes, though i confess i always thought it was a problem for places like ft ware and mackenie losing people to big cities like PG. I dont know about you but having left the okanagan I dont really think that RCMP from all over canada are as , well stupid when it comes to struggling to live in the warmest corner of BC that they can . At least i hope not. Were i an RCMP i would be looking for chances at promotion and places where i would be respected and treated in as friendly a manner as possible. Funny thing is, thats why i am here, and will remain here even though i can move and work anywhere i want to.

QTown,personally, I'd rather live in the North (PG) as opposed to Kelowna, Victoria or Kamloops. Who wants to be mortgage poor? Not me! I don't think cops wish to be either. Many baby boomer cops who could retire if they desired are refusing to transfer to those high priced places. They're telling rcmp staffing: oh yeah? try to transfer me there and I'll retire. Its financial suicide to retire to these places now. The cops with less service have no choice - they go where ordered. So, it's quite desirable to live in the North. Well, maybe not quesnel according to you..... oh yeah, arent window tints on the front side windows of a vehicle illegal? Maybe that's why they stare at you....