I suppose it is hard for people not involved in law enforcement to understand what the word “alone” truly means. I think I do because I was frequently in my last five years of service forty minutes away from my closest backup as I moved in to handle a call. I had no choice — the call could not wait. But I had something going for me that many young officers do not have — experience — and sneaky tricks which kept me safe.
The other day I contacted a friend (also a retired police officer) and asked a question in regards to this story:
“Am I completely nuts in feeling that a young officer right out of the academy should never have been posted to this location? I discussed this with my wife and she agrees with me that an older officer with field experience would never have been caught like this young man was (unless of course he/she was brain dead).
This was (in my mind) a useless death that didn’t have to occur. It did because the powers that be sent Scott into harms way without the requisite experience required to protect him.”
I already knew the answer but the reply was interesting:
“Recruits or cadets as they call them get posted out of the academy and as soon as they arrive at their first posting they have a ‘trainer’ assigned to work, mentor and monitor them for their first 6 months in the field. The trainer has to submit I think monthly progress reports on their cadet. Anyone aspiring to be a cadet trainer must undergo additional training themselves as to what is expected from them Although the trainer must not necessarily always work with their cadet, I believe (and I could be wrong) that a cadet undergoing field training is supposed to always have an experienced officer with him. In any event, I don’t believe that any cadet should be attending any calls alone other than maybe a cat stuck in a tree. There must be written policy specifically outlining do’s and don’ts in this regard, maybe somebody still serving (Mac) could assist there. Anyway, back to 1st postings. It is not at all uncommon for RCMP cadets to be posted to small units (as was Scott) wherein it is impossible due to the few officers at the unit, for him to be always accompanied by a experienced officer. The RCMP knows this fully well of course, but goes ahead and does it anyway. I don’t know what the compliment of Scott’s unit was buyt for sure it was small and I bet (with fellow officers on leave, sickness, on course of days off ) was working alone practically from day one. This is bullshit but the RCMP has gotten away with this crap so often and for so long when nothing happened they took it for granted that it would always work out ok. Well, obviously they finally got caught, or rather Scott did.
I can’t tell you how many times I expressed reservations about being required to attend potentially explosive situations alone and being told “you’ll be okay, besides if anything happens you can call for backup”. I don’t have to explain to you how utterly stupid that comment is. We used to get dropped off by aircraft alone on northern reserves with no radio contact and the plane would come back the next day or in 2 or 3 days to pick you up. You had to walk to the patrol cabin (a trailer) and walk around the reserve doing investigations because there were no vehicles. I was scheduled to fly into a reserve once, the first time I’d ever been there. I told my supervisor that I didn’t even know where the patrol cabin was (again no radio contact with the outside) and could an officer that knows the reserve fly in with me and show me around. My supervisor told me I’d be okay, just knock on doors and ask directions. Can you believe that shit? I ended up going in alone because to not do so made you out to be a coward (that was the RCMP mentality and probably still is) and would be reflected on your performance evaluation. How about driving 60 miles into the middle of nowehere onto a reserve known for its violence and brining up to your supervisor that 2 officers should always go on this patrol. The Sgt’s reply, you’ll be okay, if you get into trouble call for backup (over an hour away at best!). They simply did not want to inconvenience another officer by rescheduling them to accompany you or horrors pay overtime for anybody to do so. My first posting was to a trainng detachment in a town of 10,000. 2 weeks out of training I was working 7 day stretches of midnight to 8am shifts alone! I was crapping my pants all night everynight hoping nothing would happen because I didn’t know shit at this point in my short career. Bottom line, Jack. In my opinion the RCMP has blood on its hands in this case, in the other RCMP murder (was it Whitehorse) and even in Mayerthorpe., Alta. 2 officers left alone on a remole rural property at night while the suspect was on the loose, a known police hater, a guy with a violent past and access for firearms? Just how in hell were they guard a huge secluded dark rural property and watch their own backs let alone watch out for this jerk to sneak back onto his property without them knowing. Unfortunately the other two officers just happened by and paid with their lives also.
Anyway, enough of me I’m starting to get pissed off thinking back on all the crap I put up with and wouldn’t today). The RCMP’s attitude when an officer gets beat up attending a call alone, or dies, ‘well he shoulkd have known better and called for backup’ just doesn’t cut it, but they’ll never admit to that train of thought, but that’s exactly what it was and likely still is. The RCMP has been run on the attitude that things will all work out ok in the end for decades. Well, Scott’s family and friends would beg to differ and they should be suing the RCMP’s ass off for carelessly and needlessly sacrificing their son.
Now for the short answer. NO, you are not nuts. The RCMP has established detachments as training units (because of their size and manpower allotment). Cadets get plenty of mentoring and don’t ever have to work alone. But here’s the clincher, not all cadets are so lucky as to get posted to a ‘training detachment’ because it is not mandatory that they are. It’s a nice to…….not a have to. A body is a body and they get sent where they are needed with IMO zero consideration to them being inexperienced recruits. Filling that empty slot takes precedence. Things might have changed but I seriously doubt it.
Here’s another thing. I have coffee with guys still serving (that I used to work with). The last time was about 2 hrs ago with 2 sgts. Everybody I know can’t wait to get the hell out. It’s sad really. They’ve got their retirement day memorized to the exact day. They are all demoralized, are convinced that doing your job is just not worth it because the RCMP won’t back them up, and have little if anything good to say about the ‘new’ breed of Mountie’s dedication to duty and attitude coming right out of training. The RCMP from what I can gather is in deep shit internally.
I hope this sheds some light on your question(s).”
There was more in another mail:
“I should have added. Was he posted there for 6 months, or 5 1/2 months? No big time difference other than that it means the difference between strict adhereance to RCMP policy or not (working alone). Either way, an unacceptable expectation to work alone. Backup simply cannot arrive quickly enough to be of much if any use. Somebody’s got to get called at home, get dressed, get to the scene. If its a life and death struggle, well, you’re dead. But I don’t have to tell you that stuff anyway.”
No surprise. In Ontario young OPP police officers are often sent into harm’s way alone (many prefer to ride alone even though the contract provides for “doubling up” after 10:00 pm until 6:00 am). That would not have helped Vu Pham but it might have helped Scott.
But that didn’t happen did it?
Instead, he lost his life through a “rookie mistake” (driving into a domestic situation with no backup available rather than walking). I freely admit it is easy in hindsight to point fingers but the truth is this.
Had Scott served in a municipal detachment for five years with experienced officers mentoring him along the way he might still be alive today and that’s my point. Maybe nothing would be different this day but my view is that Scott’s chances of survival would have been immensely improved had he learned the basics before being dispatched into the back end of nowhere with no backup, a place where guns and drunken natives are as common as fleas on an old hound dogs back.
Something to consider as we all sit back and play “armchair quarterback”.
More to the point we need to ask ourselves what we are going to do about this because the situation is “fixable”.
Popularity: 2% [?]
There’s no way Barack Obama would have appeared on Fox Wednesday night in a sit-down interview with Bret Baer had not the President’s health care bill been in serious trouble. Things must be really bad, even with all the legislative legerdemain being cooked up by Pelosi and company. The interview itself was testy with Baer doing relatively well, I thought. Nevertheless, the President was able to filibuster away from answering most of the questions. But whoever “won,” I doubt it changed many minds at this point; everybody’s already so disgusted with the process. (I was amused by the competition between Baer and Obama over the number of emails they received. When Baer claimed 18000 for Fox, Obama felt he had to best him with 40000 a day to the White House.)
The Obama Administration reaches out to some of the world’s worst regimes in the name of their engagement policy. America and our allies watch as sanctions are eased on Cuba. Letters are written to Iran’s mullahs only to see that regime start killing protestors in the streets of Tehran. Envoys are sent to North Korea as they continue to defy the world’s demand to give up their nuclear weapons. The Burmese military junta’s representative is allowed to travel to our nation’s capital. The President’s envoy for Sudan talks about giving that genocidal regime “gold stars,” while the President shakes hands with Venezuela’s tyrannical leader. In the midst of all this embracing of enemies, where does the Obama Administration choose to escalate a minor incident into a major diplomatic confrontation? With Iran, Cuba, Sudan, North Korea or Burma? No. With our treasured ally, Israel.
It took awhile, 14 months to be exact, but both the ADL and AIPAC have issued very solid statements condemning the President’s new verbal war on Israel, and asking for the Administration to curtail the public berating of its supposed ally, and work with Israel in a more diplomatic fashion on both the peace process and Iran. 
They drank real tea (and imbibed some stronger drink as well). But their concerns mirrored their American cousins’ cause from across the pond.
The once-respected science journal Nature recently published a whining editorial to the effect that climate scientists are not criminals, really; that attacks on them by increasingly-skeptical news media are soooo unfair; and that the fundamental science showing that the planet is doomed unless the economies of the West are shut down at once is unchallengeable.
The time has come for somebody in the Democratic party to show moral courage.
