Two weeks ago, Armand and Rosanne Smith of Mildred brought in alleged murderer Curt Dagenais. Now, it's Kipling's Pat Beaujot with the "collar" - CTV;
Meanwhile, the farmer who helped police locate Miller and led police to Whitmore downplayed suggestions on Wednesday that he is a hero.Kipling-area resident Pat Beaujot was returning home for lunch on Tuesday when he noticed tracks leading to an abandoned farmhouse about a mile from his house.
"So I drove up to the farm yard and the grass is about three feet tall in that farmyard -- and I saw tracks in the grass. It was pretty obvious that somebody had driven in there recently," he told CTV.
When he followed the tracks around the house, he discovered a bucket of chicken and bones in a garage -- along with the van Whitmore was believed to be using -- which aroused his suspicions.
"So I opened the door a little bit and I saw the van that had been described by the media, and I quickly jumped back in my truck and drove to my house about a mile away and phoned the police from there."
The RCMP arrived in about "15 minutes," after which they began about 10 hours of negotiations with Whitmore, leading to his surrender late Tuesday night.
"I think there were hundreds of people doing the same thing I was doing yesterday," said Beaujot, "looking in abandoned farm yards and what not -- and I think they were all heroes. I guess I just stumbled upon the right place, I guess, at the right time."
All things considered, perhaps the secret to solving crime doesn't lie in hiring and equipping more police officers. It seems that what we really need are just more Saskatchewan farmers.
In my book, both the Smiths and Pat Beaujot are prime candidates for an Order of Canada award.
Unless of course their CBC credentials are not in order...
cops are the single biggest risk to to the security and freedom of canadians.
not the bikers, not the crackheads, not the smash and grab artists, cops. hoodlums cant plant evidence or filter their response depending on whether you do the angelic yessirnosirlickyerbootsir act. cops can and do. its an adrenaline rush. assertion and symbolic of all that powah.
feel free to enquire yourself what the local dipwad shytcop policy is regarding video surveillance recordings aimed directly at the scene of an offense.
here in RobertJville the policy is to utterly ignore the 100% objective unbiased record on the video and blame whoever is handy.
video records can be played stop action so that everyone can see the precide moment of contact in an assault, played back slow motion, played back 100s of times for all to see.
but here in RobertJville the cop policy is to ignore this exceptionally hi grade evidence and go with eyewitness accounts which as we know, result in a different variation with each additional eyewitness.
expediency trumps the truth as far as cops here in RobertJville are concerned.
also feel free to enquire or conduct a wee experiment and see if YOU get laughed at by a cop when you show up in the middle of the night on your way home from work to report a theft the previous afternoon. you know, when its only you and 2 cops and no one else to attest to their attitude. LAUGHED AT by a fukin cop when I reported my brand new bbq stolen right out of my backyard. LAUGHED AT.
now I carry one of those itsy bitsy 2 hour digitized omni-directional mic recording devices on me any time I go to the cop shop. it aint gonna hold up in court but it just might show up everywhere else as to 'who said what'.
the message I left with them was reinforced when I flashed my cell phone to the cop behind the counter and invited him to verify the number displayed was that of the HOME PHONE of the superitendant of uniformed division and the icing on the cake was I threatened to call said superintendent right from the lobby in case I ever got laughed at again. that way they could explain to their supervisor what was so fukin funny. backed up by the undisclosed recording device. leaving the laughing cops with the choice of either explaining why they laughed at a citizen reporting a theft or later explain why they lied to their supervisor when they denied laughing as proven by the recording.
dipwad cops, the biggest risk to freedom and safety in existence.
it all started back in the 60s when they blamed all those sweet young things in their miniskirts for, what was it, oh ya, 'provoking' the rapist.
blame the victim syndrome.
courtesy cops everywhere.
Robert J your bias is showing through. Way to go we waste to much money on the mickey mouse police. Tony
Shows to go you, that regular citizens can and should make a difference.
Fergy,
I couldn't agree more. Now, with Caribana (bring your own gun and ammo, please) coming up in Toronto, please tell me how we can transfer the attitudes of the Smiths and Pat Beaujot to the center of the universe.
Thank-you for drawing these 2 recent incidents to our attention, Kate. This just illustrates the outcomes that can be expected when citizens are actively engaged in the wellbeing of their communities. Contrast this with what we have heard about the lack of assistance police complain of regarding crimes in certain Toronto neighbourhoods. The difference in attitude and result is clear.
Citizens get to make their choice and then they get to live with the result. If people are not happy with how their neighbourhoods operate, perhaps they need to revisit some of their own choices.
Why "negotiate" with this scumbag? Get a sniper and take him out. Oh sorry, my feelings are showing. I'm really not like that. On the other hand, maybe it's not a bad idea.
Thanks Kate for another great blog.
Robert J:
Speaking as a retired police officer...you're an a$$hole.
However, as distorted as your view of the world happens to be, I can honestly say that in the 30 years I spent on the job, I was very much prepared to risk my safety to protect the likes of you.
Fortunately for you, 99% of those currrently serving in police forces feel the same way.
You're welcome.
Idiot.
Just where do these Sask farmers get off by doing the responsible thing? Next thing you know those folks at the centre of the universe will start to act that way.
Ask anyone who has been towed out of a winter ditch or had a vehicle breakdown on the prairies, those farmers are good folk. Thanks.
Texas
The folks at the center (FAC) will never act that way.....it just aint in em.
Syncro
[admin note: deleted]
Robert J - either tone it down, or leave.
What we need is more involved citizens. Happens that Saskatchewan farmers, and most rural folks in general, are backward enough for that to still have some meaning to them.
Which is not to say that the Smiths and Mr. Beaujot don't deserve respect for stepping up - they absolutely do.
This is how citizens are supposed to behave. Very good for them. Here in Ottawa, some people are asking for the Guardian Angels to clean things up.
These citizens show how we shoulkd take responsibility ourselves.
...and how about the rural crimestoppers on the Island of Grande Manan, NB.
A building (crack house or whatever) was burned and apparently some kind of an assault occured as the good folks decided to "take back" their neighborhood. How quickly it seems court appearances will happen on this one.
Compared to a burned out one million dollar bridge, mangled transmission towers, road and other infrastructure damage, alleged firearms violations, assaults, and probably a lot more in Caledonia - what was burned on G. Manan appeared to be pretty small stuff. And all without any court appearences that I'm aware of and even a casino thrown in as a reward.
Not a good thing for the island locals to do but this level of exasperation with the justice system is bound to boil over in other places as well.
The police on the Island are now about ten fold to do what? Protect the rural crimefighters? Hardly - it seems they are quite able to protect themselves and theirs. In fact the police are now protecting the law breakers and once again being made the scape goats of the judiciary/political bleeding hearts who are the root cause.
The justice of it all
As someone who has lived in small town Saskatchewan, I would advise wanted criminals that rural Saskatchewan is NOT where you want to hide out. The guy pumping your fuel at the co-op knows your medical test results before you do. If you haven't played on the same curling/slo-pitch team for at least 10 years you would be noticed as a newbie there.
Sorry Robert J is being obstreperous, because I concur with some of the attitudes he's dealt with in my mid-sized city, not in Saskatchewan.
With all due respect to you, Bruce, and your 30 years of service, I think that you were policing when it was a much more honourable profession than it seems to have become.
My take on things is that as in so many areas in this small city, nepotism is rampant. The guys/gals who are getting the good-paying/great benefits contracts in the local cop shop basically grew up here and know a whole lot of people. I've had two incidents with them where they seem to have been clueless about the seriousness of my concerns. Though they didn't actually laugh at me, they were surly and unhelpful.
And I'm a friend of law and order. I go up to police--or used to--in Toronto and tell them how much I appreciate what they do and how hard it must be for them that our law-enforcement in the courts is such a joke.
A lot of police are stressed right out and are frustrated by the lack of support they get at the judicial level when trying to prosecute a felon. Too bad they're reaction is often to treat civilians with contempt. Kicking the dog is not a solution to the problem.
Bravo to Sask. farmers Armand and Rosanne Smith and Pat Beaujot; I hope they get the recognition they deserve other than their 15 minutes of fame.
Whoops: replace they're with their in above post--important distinction...
obstreperous RobertJ opines that cops exhibit john gotti syndrome;
they rescue kids and then we see a full page report in the local rag they beat up a septegenarian retired naval officer in his own home and now have a gleaming spankin new $1,100.000 lawsuit on their hands.
likewise john gotti garnered unanymous support from his neighbors for all the block parties he paid for and things I suppose like paying the college tuition of his good friends kids. and went to jail for whacking dozens of his enemies.
the first does not excuse the second with either party; the problem with cops is they got AAAAALLLL those taxpaid resources and the full weight of law behind them. they can in fact do a great deal more damage to the liberty and well being of citizens than gangsters.
if Im an asshole for pointing this out there are vastly bigger assholes DOING IT.
Im on my way downtown to scan and upload the article of which I speak and Kate can do with it what she will.
the truth will out, the truth will out.
p.s. Kate: that was the toned down version !!
LOL !!!
No one is going to carjack a pick-up truck with a gun rack in it they might end up on a marble slab in the mourgue
Rob J:
To say that cops have ALL these tax-payer paid-for resources and the weight of the laws behind them is pretty brave considering you've never walked a mile in their boots.
For starters, the weight of the law in Canada is less than what you'd find on the moon. Have you ever stood in the hallway outside prisoners in cells and listened to what they have to say about the cops, prosecutors and judges? Didn't think so.
If you only knew the loopholes and technicalities involved when it comes to laying a charge nowadays, you may retract your previous post. For starters, criminals have more rights than the victim and that in itself is cause for great concern. Do you have any idea how frustrating it is to arrest a wanted felon who has warrants only to see a judge wave his/her finger, warn them to attend court when required (even thought the perp has missed the previous 3 appearances) and hold the door open for them as they leave? Now think how frustrating it is when, less than a day later, that same perp is found behind the wheel, drunker than a skunk, driving while DQ'd, in possession of a crack pipe and has just injured 3 people, including 2 kids under the age of 8, as a result of a traffic accident in which he ran a red light? The guy was already up on 2 drunk driving charges and we let him out on the streets to he can do what...volunteer at the seniors centre? help out at a soup kitchen? take ballroom dancing lessons? Help me out here...I'm still trying to figure out the reasoning behind this type of decision. Oh wait, I just thought of something. It's called precedent. Precedent dictates sentences in this country and that's part of what's wrong with our system. We need to reform the judiciary to allow for a lot more flexibility when going upward, not downward, in sentencing. But, then again, like the socialist comments in a previous post, the judiciary seems to be in a race to the bottom when it comes to sentencing guidelines. The first judge to lower the sentence wins the yellow shirt for that stage or something.
The old saying goes, "don't shoot the messenger" and that's exactly what's happening to the police these days. These brave men and women put more effort into what they do in one shift than most of us will ever be capable of.
Instead of shooting the messenger, maybe its time we held the ones who make the laws and mete out the punishment accountable. The scales of justice are tipped much too far in favour of the criminal. It will take a concentrated effort to hold down those bleeding heart liberals while those scales are balanced properly.
I make no bones that I'm a right-of-centrist. I make no apologies that I feel little remorse for repeat, violent offenders who should be incarcerated for greater lengths of time. I'm also a very compassionate person who cares dearly what this country will look like when my kids grow up and take the reigns. I loathe to think they'll see crime as a "normalized" activity or occupation. As it stands now, criminals laugh at the judges. Just for once, I'd like to see a judge laugh at the criminal as he hands down a life sentence to some repeat violent thug or unconscienceable corporate criminal.
How sweet would that be? I have my extra $50 in hand to hand over each year to the feds for the construction of more cell space. It's a pretty cheap price to pay knowing people like Whitmore, Dagenais, et al. are off the streets for good.
On a lighter note, HAVE A GREAT LONG WEEKEND EVERYONE! GO RIDERS GO!!!!!
mr pissed:
I DID walk a mile in their shoes as an auxiliary with niagara regional in 1990-1
one night the regular I was with dumped me and another auxiliary at a corner on clifton hill niagara falls and fuked off with his preferred buddy. TOTALLY AGAINST REGULATIONS. so me and the other bloke, who had a radio, sat the evening out in a restaurant. at the very least all 4 of us should have stayed in a group but this particular regular was a well known asshole for that kind of thing.
I made a complaint against him with the supervisor. that was the start of me getting ostrasized by the regulars; we auxiliaries were supposed to just put up and shut up.
by the end of my term when I moved to burlington after only 2 years MORE than half that group of about 30 or 40 had quit in disgust at the hands of the regulars, including a really nice lady who had made a standing offer to do our CPR training. after a year of the offer being ignored she quit as did her boyfriend who was also an auxiliary with some 5 or 6 years under his belt, in an act of support for her.
as far as "dont shoot the messenger", well, IM the messenger and brucey the ex-cop just took a few pot shots at me. typical copism.
if you ask nice maybe Kate will download the pdf file I gave her about the cops here in RobertJville with million dollar lawsuit on their hands for beating up a 76 yr old retiree in his own home.
and if indeed cops behaviour stems from frustration at the court system, well thats psychobabble and proves my point; they are uninhibited from punishing the victim. the HUGE problem is theyve got all that power and can do a great deal of damage.
The sob didn,t have the guts to kill himself.Why did it take 12 hours to arrest the man,it would have taken me 2 minutes