The judge said Bourque showed little remorse for the crimes until the end of the sentencing hearing when he addressed the families.
The courtroom where Smith delivered his sentence was full. He spent the first part of his decision going over Bourque’s past.
He described Bourque as being obsessed with guns, video games, heavy metal music and dependent on marijuana. He said Bourque felt oppressed by the police even though he had no criminal record.
And “the rich”.
The things you never see on the CBC.
h/t Kevin B.
Unfortunately I as well have little sympathy for the RCMP officers that fell.
I wish I could feel sympathy but my respect for police officers in this country has fallen so low that their deaths don’t matter much to me. All I see is three fewer holier than thous who demand that everyone worship them as heroes.
The only reason this guy got such a sentence was the judge was outraged that any of the mere mortals might have the audacity to attack the most visible powers of the almighty state.
“All I see is three fewer holier than thous who demand that everyone worship them as heroes.”
I will take your word for it. I didn’t know them.
Ya know way back when I was a kid in that 1 room school….the biggest insult was…”You think yer better than everybody else?”
Bullying, patronizing, condescending is not the way to win friends and influence people. Most folks perceive that Police, in general, do think they are better than everybody else. They project an image as rulers rather than servants and protectors.
I generally take a perverse pride in being open minded, beyond prejudice but I will admit to relating to the unfortunate attitudes espressed by GG, NME666, and Colonialista.
I am not outraged, nor busted up, by Borque’s actions…but I am not all busted up that he got 75 years either. I’m indifferent.
Tain’t right, tain’t wrong, just is.
When I was a kid back in our 1 room school, you’re right, the girls used to say that all the time.
I used be an officer with a smaller department. I found the attitude of the RCMP hugely overbearing. This attitude has spread to most law enforcement in general.
I’m very glad I decided to get out early and pursue a civilian career. Ordering people around is an annoying to do.
When you are a kid L.E. seems like a super cool job. You have a snappy uniform and you think you’re great. It really goes to a lot of guys heads.
And Jamie? I’m new here but you really don’t need to be so touchy about every comment made by somebody who doesn’t agree with you. You seem a bit thin skinned for someone who says they were a law enforcement officer.
Actually your responses to those who disagree with you say a lot.
You say you are a cop but you apparently can’t stand it when someone doesn’t think or speak the way you think is proper and you are quite willing to address it every time it happens.
Now, imagine how magnified that attitude would be if you were walking around with uniform, badge, sidearm, a hundred buddies only a radio call away and the implied authority of the state.
“And Jamie? I’m new here but you really don’t need to be so touchy about every comment made by somebody who doesn’t agree with you.”
I’m plain blunt. Stupid comments don’t offend me at all – I just call them as I see them. And I’ll add your insightful analysis to that list.
It’s easy to hate the Liberals for what they are turning our country into. It’s also easy to distrust the RCMP after the High River Martial Law and subsequent gun thefts in 2013.
Yeah well, your allegiance to “the blue wall” is showing.
One of the basic realities is that life is adversarial….live with it…own it.
Perception is reality when the rubber hits the road.
Body cams show promise to control both the LEOs and their customers.
Exactly, not much to add, ny thoughts exactly.
I am sorry. I wish I could be on your side. I truly, honestly do (I was long time ago). Unfortunately I have encountered cops on duty. I have encountered cynicism that would overwhelm a human (they ain’t human, they robot) I have seen the culture of entitlement at every stage. The arrogance the “^uck you, I am God attitude”. I have held my six month pregnant wife in my arms while she was holding our dead puppy. So, ^uck you and every other JBT. Press me like this once again (my family is financially secure by now if I am gone) tell me that investigation revealed nothing a day before she is due (oh yeas we begged and written MPs and MPPs and everyone else), charge your friend with the wrong charge so he get’s off the hook and Jason will seem like a tender teenage pu$$y.
If fecal matter ever hits the rotary device I will go Bourque with no hesitation. Your friends have earned it. There ain’t gonna be a declaration, there ain’t gonna be barricades. Bodyguards will become expensive overnight.
Great story. If I was you I’d publish it under my real name.
“…your allegiance to “the blue wall” is showing…”
Bullshit.
Check the archives. On this blog, I have hammered the OPP relentlessly for its chicken-shit stance at Caledonia, the RCMP for the gun-grab at High River, and the police chiefs’ and police associations’ suck-holing support for maintaining the gun registry.
I detest police forces. The politics suck, hiring and promotions are crippled by processes that overlook true merit and reward idiots, and the training has serious flaws.
My original post, had absolutely nothing to do with any allegiance, but rather, the simple recognition that most of the guys I worked with over many years were ordinary, decent fellows. And I acknowledged that there were far too many dickheads.
A week or so ago on this blog several commenters started piling on the mother of the piece of crap who killed Cpl. Cirillo – without knowing one damned thing about the woman except that she had a senior post within the government. And the same thing happened this time with the comments about the three dead cops in New Brunswick. They might have been absolute dickheads, but they might just as easily have been the finest guys you would ever want to meet.
And anybody who would paint all cops, all teachers, all government workers, or for that matter, all politicians, with one stroke of a biased brush is making a stupid comment.
Jamie MacMaster > November 2, 2014 7:43 AM
Well said, just like all SDA commenters are not keyboard warriors, or Liberal trolls, or dyslexic retards trying to get a rise out of anyone that’ll bite.
There may be a “culture” in any organization, but all organizations are occupied by individuals with individual backgrounds.
If you want to change an organizations culture, you need to start at the top to change it.
….you need to start at the top to change it (Quickly)
Jamie it’s hard to express a conflicted point in a forum like this. I have lost respect for many police. That doesn’t mean I hate them or even dislike them as people. I have friends who are still police officers. I like them and their families and they are great guys. If they were in trouble or hurting I would help them and I can trust them to do the same for me. It doesn’t mean I don’t hold them or their co-workers or their organizations accountable when they abuse their power.
But we must face this. The police have squandered their trust among the very people who USED to be their most steadfast,vocal and vigorous supporters.
You like to get snotty and call my comments stupid but that doesn’t mean it’s true.
GG >
“….it’s hard to express a conflicted point in a forum like this”
Agreed, also IMO questioning the police is not a big topic on most “conservative blogs”.
Part of the problem with abusive Police culture is that it is rarely challenged by conservatives, unless of course they have their doors kicked in as in High River Alberta, or they had a bad night out on the town and found out that most cops hate drunks.
Regardless nothing will change if people sit back and give police abuse a pass as long as it’s happening to someone else.
I’ll live with snotty. And I’ll stick with stupid.
I find as I mature further, that inspiration visits less frequently.
What I am saying is perhaps the best way to explain is simple.
The Police have lost the hearts and minds of the public.
And that is indeed regrettable….
“…I find as I mature further, that inspiration visits less frequently.
What I am saying is perhaps the best way to explain is simple.
The Police have lost the hearts and minds of the public. And that is indeed regrettable…”
Not sure what inspiration you’re referring to.
On the second point, there is no doubt that support for the police has dropped in places like Caledonia, High River, and among hunters and gun owners. And that is indeed a shame, because rural/small-town Canada was the traditional supporter of the police. So you’ll get no argument from me on that point; I’ve said the same thing before on SDA and in letters to the CACP and the CPA. But to say that the police have “lost” the hearts and minds of the Canadian public is a bit premature. However, if they keep working at it, your statement will certainly have validity some day…maybe even someday soon.
“…Regardless nothing will change if people sit back and give police abuse a pass as long as it’s happening to someone else…”
Aye, indeed. And that Sir, is the great Canadian epidemic. Bitch, moan, but do nothing.
Bitching on a blog or forum – about police procedures, or anything else for that matter – is a piss-poor surrogate for doing something meaningful.
I can see that you are comfortable with snotty and stupid. Your posts prove it.
No thank you, we have already been harassed probably as a payback for having one goon investigated. Of course he was investigated by his friends… well we were stupid. At every stage we thought it was just a misunderstanding, that the cop was inexperienced, that he accidentally mishandled the case, that just talking to his superiors, or their superiors will get us justice. We were convinced that they would want justice in such an obvious case. Why wouldn’t they? Only when it was way too late we realized that none of it was an accident but rather a concerned effort on behalf of the local police force to protect the person who victimized us. In every case the initial reaction was highly positive and then the same people who made promises were unable to deliver all due to objective circumstances. The rapport was falsified and we got it overturned, of course they could not find the report for quite a while. They even finally filed charges… but these were not the appropriate charges and judge thew them out of court, “Sorry we ^ucked up, things happen” said the nice detective who visited our house with the final report one day before my wife was due.
Now Mr. MacMaster there is one point you have made that we are in complete agreement on.
That is that Canadians do too much bitching and not enough acting. With all of the outrage about police abuse during the High River flood all that the people in High River have done is bitch – nothing else.
If they were truly that outraged they could have booted the RCMP out of their community and gone with a municipal police force or a regional policing agreement with Calgary. (The Calgary city police handled a larger flood evacuation that that in High River and didn’t see it necessary to kick in a single door or seize a single firearm. Funny how THAT worked.)
There hasn’t been the slightest peep about municipal or regional policing. So High River? If you won’t do anything, screw you. Don’t bitch the next time it happens.
Now you’re catching on.
And one of these days you might even get the “it don’t bother me a bit” part.
Maybe so, sir maybe so 😀
Actually I wish the people of High River would have booted the RCMP out and brought in municipal policing or regional policing.
They would have been doing the people all across canada a favor. The message would be “The little people *CAN* fight back and WILL”! Watch the attitudes or you will be out on your asses looking for a job or trying to sell your house when the RCMP transfers you to some Indian reserve.
No doubt the RCMP would respond with “we were just following orders! The politicians/judges told us to do this!”
Uh uh, nice try, no dice f**k off.
The next time a politician or judge tells you to do something similar you tell them to get stuffed. Ultimately it’s your ass so straighten the f**k out.
Agree with your last sentence – why were they all so close to all get shot – the first thing you learn in any cadet force, which I was in a long long time ago, let alone the army, if somebody shoots at you, take cover and spread out. Are the RCMP that incompetent?
Holy Mackerel! So all this time the solution to military and police casualties was staring us in the face! Just recruit former cadets! Who’d a thunk it?