The news of the shooting in Connecticut should at the very least provide perspective for all of us when we think of our family, friends and the people we care for. In the last few days most of us have turned our minds to just how much we care about the people around us. It may be a natural human tendency to hope that something good that can come from a tragedy. In this case the loss and suffering are so great. There is nothing that can relieve the lifetime of pain for these families. We grieve along with them.
Also in the news on Friday was the revelation that the young RCMP officer recently killed in an on-duty accident was speeding and he had not activated his emergency lights at the time.
There was speculation that this may have been the case but the RCMP suppressed the news until after his funeral. Regardless, it is an unfortunate and tragic loss. It was a mistake that cost this officer his life and left his family to suffer and grieve. It is fortunate that no one else was injured or killed.
CBC reported on Friday that 23-year old RCMP Constable Jordan Braid pleaded guilty to driving without due care and attention and was sentenced to pay a $1725 fine for causing an accident that killed 20-year old Steven Genberg and 19-year old Jonathan Dauphney. The RCMP officer caused a head on crash that killed the two young men. He was speeding and his emergency lights and siren were not activated.
With regards to the driving of these two RCMP officers, there are lessons that can be learned. But the lessons have been out there for so long — there is nothing new here. These are mistakes that ultimately had the most tragic of consequences. RCMP officers and police officers from all over have made these similar catastrophic mistakes from time to time over several decades.
It seems unlikely that much good can come of any of these tragedies.