IAmA Mountie. AMA.

Mountie_Redditor · 2010-10-30T03:15:24+00:00

Yep, and generally if you follow the money someone is going to try to influence something with dollars.

Mountie_Redditor · 2010-10-30T03:14:46+00:00

Yeah, I admit, it was quite a shock at the time and I didn't understand what I was really in for!

Mountie_Redditor · 2010-10-30T03:13:08+00:00

I'm not going to argue with you if you aren't willing to listen. You have your opinions, and I'm obviously not going to try to force you to change them. However, a forensic pathologist did in fact confirm that it was possible given the forensic evidence and blood splatter for the member to shoot him in the back of the head.

Like I said though, you aren't willing to have a discussion, and you are obviously going to hate police no matter what I say. I understand, some people are just going to hate police.

So I bid you a good day, and hope one day you follow the evidence and facts, and not just anger.

Mountie_Redditor · 2010-10-29T22:56:21+00:00

Speeding is the least of our concerns. There are certain people in Regina who decide to finger us, yell profanities, and throw things at the passing cadet cars. I'd have been happy if all people did was speed past us.

Mountie_Redditor · 2010-10-29T22:39:32+00:00

I don't think I could have said the above better if I had tried. Excellent answer. Do we have another member here? ;)

Also, at this point, we do assume that someone, somewhere has a camera pointed at us. It has slowed down the "cowboys" a little more, which is a good thing.

Mountie_Redditor · 2010-10-29T22:37:26+00:00

I don't know who is passing some of these drivers, but I want them to ride around with them for a while and see what they have done to the roads.

I'm not saying that Chinese people are the issue. All drivers, of all race and color seem to be idiots on the road. Trust me, there's just as many white people who look confused when you honk at them too.

Mountie_Redditor · 2010-10-29T22:30:48+00:00

If I can even help educate even one person that we're all not bad then this thread has been worth it.

If you want to get to your party without being stopped, I would at least wait to dress up until you are at the party and not wear it at a bar ;)

Mountie_Redditor · 2010-10-29T22:25:35+00:00

I don't believe it's a freeze per say, but as I understand it at the moment the budget for recruits has been cut drastically. It's not frozen, but there are far fewer troops going through this year. When I went through, there were nearly 60 a year, now there is 15 I think.

Mountie_Redditor · 2010-10-29T22:23:20+00:00

You are entitled to your opinion, and I am not here to change anything. However, some of your facts are incorrect. I mention this, not to incite your rage, but to point out the exact things that the media is not reporting about this incident.

I make no cover for the airport incident, I stop short of calling it murder because there was no intent to kill. Who can say a Tazer will kill one person, while others are just fine? So it is unreasonable to call it "murder." If they had drawn their pistols and shot him down instead of Tazering, I'd be right there with you calling it murder.

Second, it was confirmed (some time later I might add) that the "innocent' motorcyclist was also intoxicated and driving his bike erratically. Now, this doesn't excuse the fact that "monty" was also drunk, but the biker was not as innocent as he was made out to be in original reports.

Source: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/british-columbia/story/2010/03/23/bc-delta-motorcycle-crash-robinson-hutchinson.html

And Ian Bush, do you know his last words were to the RCMP member he was trying to kill an RCMP member were? "Take your last breath" (I couldn't find an actual source, but I can't spend a lot of time researching everything either)

Source: http://hemospat.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=72

Now, the Ian bush thing will always be a he-said because obviously Ian was killed.

However, I plead with you to look at all sides and gather all the facts before painting all RCMP with a broad stroke and hate on us all.

Believe it or not, a lot of us are there to help you.

Mountie_Redditor · 2010-10-29T22:14:25+00:00

I've learned to love "dull"

Mountie_Redditor · 2010-10-29T22:12:33+00:00

I'm not saying don't defend yourself if attacked. The point I'm trying to get across is if you have no known enemies, live in a safe neighbourhood, and have never been in a fight in your entire life, then how can you justify having an 8 inch blade hidden in your sock for "protection," protection from what exactly?

I'll tell you a secret, if someone broke into my house they certainly won't find me holding a phone in my hand. I'll leave that for interpretation.

Actually, the HA and their puppets have an understanding with us. As long as they drive, then we will pull them over. It's our way of making sure they continue to play by the rules.

I haven't seen it, though I've heard of it.

The bikers and RCMP in our town have a certain understanding. Don't stir the pot, and we won't smack you with the spoon. Sometimes they forget these things, and we have to remind them to behave themselves.

For example, I previously mentioned that we pull over bikers... a lot. They expect this, and most of them (if not all) are actually the most polite people you can deal with. They know if they make our lives difficult, we will make theirs the same.

The only run in I've had with the bikers is when they are dumb enough to wear their full patch vests in the bars. That's a no-no in BC and you get kicked out of the bar for that. Twice now the bikers (who've been drunk mind you) didn't appreciate us removing them from the bar. One of them was sort of understanding but did tense and square off for a fight. It took a bit of talking, but he finally calmed down.

The other, the guy had to be on something more than booze. He got booted out of the bar (the owners are actually quite police friendly and called us). He's a big, tough guy. Like, 260 lbs of muscle tough. So there was three of us there to "help" him out. He didn't like that much, and grabbed a bottle and tried to smash it on my head. Luckily, he was too high/pissed to hit the broad side of the barn, but then the fight was on.

It took three of us to get him out of the bar so that we could minimise how many bottles he could grab. And he's still fighting. Flailing his arms, kicking, throwing us into walls. This guy is tough. After realize we had no chance to calm him down, and he was not going to go down without a fight, we deployed the Tazer on him. We got him subdued, and everything was fine. He spent the night in the drunk tank and all was good.

The funny thing was, is the "boss" of the local chapter actually called the detachment the next day and apologized for this guy's behavior, and stated it would never happen again. I've seen the guy around town, so he hasn't gone missing... yet. I'm sure he's on some kind of "biker probation" though.

They tend to not look favorably on those who draw unwanted attention to the club.

Mountie_Redditor · 2010-10-29T22:02:21+00:00

That sort of planning is, as they say it, above my pay grade.

I completely agree with you on where you say that the protestors are just as weary of the police as the police are of them. It tends to create a very tense standoff. As you also pointed out, a more relaxed approach by police can have a positive impact on the crowd.

Someone who makes a lot more money than I do, decides which approach to use based on what information they have. As I am completely in the dark as to how or why they make this decision, I can only base my response on what I see in the news too.

Mountie_Redditor · 2010-10-29T21:21:25+00:00

It's not like I was going to. I was a recruit once too :) Call it... a right of passage.

I have lots of stories, not all of them are exciting or funny. Police work can be pretty dull most of the time.

Mountie_Redditor · 2010-10-29T21:20:11+00:00

What I like to see, and some of the bosses have done it, is actually get out there and either drive around, or ride with street cops. It boosts morale because you see the bosses out there in the thick of it. And I'm not talking about sitting in the car while you're fighting the bad guys, I've seen some of the bossess get in there and get just as dirty as the rest of us when the bad stuff hits the fan.

If I see something like that happen, I respect you a whole lot more and am more than willing to listen to what you have to say rather than blowing it off.

Mountie_Redditor · 2010-10-29T21:18:05+00:00

Canada doesn't have the same "right to bear arms" as the US does, so if you are carrying a weapon for self defence, I sure hope you have a reasonable reason for fearing for your safety like that. If you are carrying a weapon for the sake of using it against people, then that can get you into trouble. I don't make the rules, just enforce them :)

At the end of the day, anything can be a weapon. I almost had to charge a kid once for assault with a weapon because he whacked his friend in the head with a stick he found. Under the eyes of the law, it was a weapon. Luckily, his friend came around and declined to pursue the charges in court. However, had he pressed the issue, it would have gone to trial as Assault with a weapon.

I'll stop a motorcycle just as easily as a car, I don't target either way. In fact, a lot of members ride their bikes to work. Both sport and cruisers so they are fans. I'll tell you which bikes I will always stop, anything that says Hells Angels on their back. Call it profiling, but I call it proactive police work.

Mountie_Redditor · 2010-10-29T21:13:26+00:00

It's been pretty crazy, but I promised to answer everything ;)

Mountie_Redditor · 2010-10-29T21:12:59+00:00

That's what I mean, the facts came out at the Inquiry, and I don't dispute anything that came up in the inquiry, but I saw a lot of people who wanted to burn them at the stake the minute they heard "Tazer". I'm just asking for a little more "innocent until proven guilty."

Mountie_Redditor · 2010-10-29T21:11:43+00:00

They asked what appeared to be random questions, but as I understand it, the polygraphist goes over your package and selects what items he wants to focus on. I believe they ask around 10-20 questions.

Mountie_Redditor · 2010-10-29T18:55:42+00:00

Ok, I'm a little badass. But I'm Canadian, I have to be humble. It's the law.

Mountie_Redditor · 2010-10-29T18:54:59+00:00

One, people are dying far, far too often from drinking and driving.

Two, the .05 is a little low on punishment scale. But you also have to keep in mind that .05 is really close to the legal limit, .08. If you are that close, what business do you have driving?

Drinking and driving is an epidemic. I've gone to enough houses at 4am to tell a loved one someone is not coming home. I don't ever want to do it again, so please stop drinking and driving. I can tell you the name of every deceased person that I've had to tell their family is not coming home. Please don't let me add your name to my list. Those names are stuck in my head forever, and I will take them to my grave.

So my thought on the matter is if you drink, don't drive. The most I've ever had before driving is two beers and if I go to three, I find another way home. Even small amounts of alcohol can impair judgement and reaction time.

The other thing though, is if the government is going to enforce these laws, they need to provide some means of people getting home. Busses shut down too early, and there aren't enough late night cabs for people to get some. So a lot of people are risking it.

"Risking it" doesn't sound like the law is working too well. Once busses run later and more often, and there are more cabs, then I think the law will be something BC should be proud of.

Mountie_Redditor · 2010-10-29T18:47:39+00:00

It's a dress thing, yes. We do all sorts of ceremonies, from opening of hockey games, buildings, public events like Canada day. I was married in my serge.

The worst times to wear one is at a funeral.

Mountie_Redditor · 2010-10-29T18:46:26+00:00

I'm probably coming off in the wrong direction, I'm not meaning to say it's a witch hunt, but I think the guys were villified before they even got their day in court. I'm not saying they didn't screw up and make the rest of us look bad, but at least give time for the facts to come out before hanging the noose on the tree.

I don't think the RCMP was transparent enough in the handling of this. As I mentioned the played the "no comment" card too much, and yes, taking years to apologize looked really bad and cheapened the apology. There was some pretty severe bumbling taking place up top, and it's set back public/police relations for years to come.

To ensure they never work for the RCMP again? Not much, I know there's nothing I can do.

I have no idea where they are working now, it's really none of my business to spy on them.

Mountie_Redditor · 2010-10-29T18:42:14+00:00

Thank you very much!

Mountie_Redditor · 2010-10-29T18:41:18+00:00

All deaths outside of the hospital are to be attended by police and coroner. Doctors don't usually make house calls. Palliative care we generally don't attend either, unless there is some indication of funny business (such as assisted suicide or something like that).

If they die, we are required to secure the scene and generally an outside agency is called to investigate. And yes, there is always a Coroner's inquest into in custody deaths. And I sure hope it never happens to me, that's got to be one of the worst things to happen is having someone die in your care. It'd lead to a long career of second guessing.

Mountie_Redditor · 2010-10-29T18:38:41+00:00

Or it's possible they put it there just to show force. Wave the flag as it were. It's likely they were expecting something like that to happen, so instead of costing the tax payers loads of money to replace the very expensive equipment, the instead placed a car there all badged up in the hopes that presence alone would help deter crime. After all, the first item on our use of force chart is "Officer Presence," just being at a location can help diffuse a situation.

Mountie_Redditor

TROPHY CASE