Don’t be too quick to judge

Editorial (The Coaster) – A few bad apples can ruin the whole bunch – juts ask members of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.

We never know what the day could bring when we wake in the morning. This saying is especially true for our RCMP officers. Despite their training, they never know when/if a routine traffic stop could turn into a life or death situation. They put their lives on the line to protect us, but now that Robert Dziekanski’s case is all over the media, we’ll quickly start to paint all RCMP officers with the same brush.

An RCMP officer could save a woman’s life when called to a domestic disturbance, but as soon as they leave that scene in their police cruiser, the public will see them and think of tasers and Robert Dziekanski.

The four RCMP officers involved with the tasering death of Robert Dziekanski should have the book thrown at them. How four trained protectors of the law, who were also armed with pepper spray and a handgun when they tasered Dziekanski to death, couldn’t apprehend one man is beyond any rational thought.

The general public will follow this ongoing story and question the RCMP – especially the four involved with this specific case – and question the integrity of the RCMP members – and rightfully so. Who will protect us from those that protect us? There’s an easy answer to that question, the RCMP officers who stand for everything the RCMP is supposed to stand for.

Although the RCMP is a “job” like no other, it is still a job that’s filled with human beings. All humans make mistakes and some make horrendous decisions. Just because four RCMP officers made a mistake that cost a man his life, that doesn’t mean all RCMP officers will.

Yes, everybody has a right to question the use of tasers and what happened in the Vancouver airport the day Robert Dziekanski was tasered, but we can’t be quick on the trigger to assume all RCMP officers would do the same.