Yellowknife, NWT (Canadian Press) – Jury selection is to begin Monday in the first-degree murder trial of a man accused of shooting an RCMP officer in the Northwest Territories.
The court has set aside two days to pick jurors for the trial of Emrah Bulacti. He is accused of killing Const. Christopher Worden on Oct. 6, 2007.
Worden was killed while responding to an early-morning call in the small community of Hay River on the southern shores of Great Slave Lake. Bulatci, now 25, was arrested at an Edmonton housing complex after a week-long search.
At Bulatci’s previous appearances, court officials set up metal detectors outside court – a rarity in the Northwest Territories – and security at the trial is expected to be tight.
The trial, scheduled to last seven weeks, is being held in a Yellowknife hotel instead of the courthouse.
Worden’s death left his community shocked and deeply saddened. About 1,400 people attended the popular young officer’s memorial service in Hay River.
Worden, who was 30, left a wife and a young daughter.
For many, the memory remains painful, said outgoing Hay River Mayor Jean-Marc Miltenberger.
“It’s still near and dear and close to the surface,” he said.
Miltenberger said Worden’s death brought the town closer together.
Since the murder, the town has worked to keep youth facilities open longer and later to give young people something productive to do. Anti-drug programs have also been reinstated.
“We’ve come a long way in the past two years,” Miltenberger said.
The town has financed a head-and-shoulders statue of Worden to stand permanently as a memorial at the recreation centre.
Within a month of Worden’s death, a second young Mountie was killed on duty in a remote northern community. Const. Doug Scott, 20, was shot while responding to a call in Kimmirut, Nunavut.
The deaths caused the force to review its procedures and staffing policy for small detachments.
Deputy Commissioner Bill Sweeney said at the time that Mounties attending any call with a threat of violence must travel in pairs and that off-duty officers must back up anyone working alone.
Recent Comments