I'll confess I'm an unabashed supporter of police generally and Delta's police department in particular.
I penned an earlier column on Delta's policing history and its prominent rise to one of the better, if not the best, departments anywhere. I have a short history of police work as a young man out of high school, as a constable in the RCMP.
While my experience in policing is decades old, I doubt current hiring and screening practices differ greatly. Every effort is made to solicit candidates who are intelligent, disciplined, mature and with an appropriate psychological profile.
Police men and women sometimes fall short of public expectations in their conduct in public service and personal life. Newscasts are replete with misadventures of police officers on and off duty. Strangely their good work is seldom reported.
I sometimes wonder why anyone in today's society would choose to don a police uniform, wear a bulletproof vest, strap on a handgun and start a twelve hour shift in a public and sometimes hostile environment.
Police members are often the final arbiters in a variety of social conflicts. Occasionally there are misjudgments, and a rush to judge a situation with dire consequences. Men and women in military and paramilitary careers are some of our finest citizens and are a cross section of societies culture and values.
Police officers often find themselves making instant choices in critical situations resulting in injury to themselves or others who have necessarily placed themselves in harm's way.
The public is quick to criticize, sometimes led by overzealous news reports without providing context to the whole circumstance. In the sport world we are familiar with instant replay and slow motion technology, confirm real time human decisions usually stand the test of scrutiny. Police officers also face scrutiny via surveillance and hand held cameras, and likely soon will be wearing video equipment.
Their decisions, often made under chaotic circumstances, can be reviewed by the independent investigations office and crown prosecutors.
What is generally not well understood is the mind set of the individual creating the hostile scenario after succumbing to fatal injuries. In the past, perhaps police actions may have been given the benefit of the doubt, seldom resulting in criminal charges. Now the reverse is more likely perhaps from public protests or via the deceased's family, civil litigators and investigative journalism.
In a most unusual circumstance, Delta's own Const. Jordan MacWilliams, a seven-year member of Delta's police department, has been charged under the Criminal Code with second-degree murder. Const. MacWilliams was on duty and assisting New Westminster police in a fivehour critical standoff outside the Starlight Casino, where the perpetrator suffered fatal injuries. As this is written this unfortunate incident is the subject of a pending court action.
Unfortunately there are many victims in this circumstance, and Const. MacWilliams and family are one of them. I applaud the local department in providing support for their colleague who is, and will be, under intense scrutiny in a very public trial. Const. MacWilliams' action at a critical moment will be reviewed in meticulous detail and weighed against the law and standards of appropriate conduct. No police officer ever starts a day thinking they will be involved in a fatal shooting and the subject of a murder investigation.
I suspect Const. MacWilliams will cherish all the support received.
And a good night to you, Jim.
