Dangers in Policing: A Chaplains View

The other day a Calgary police officer was killed in the line of duty during the course of his regular duties. It appears as if he was making a traffic stop of a vehicle with a 17 year old driver and his 19 year old passenger. All the details and the guilt or innocence of these young men is yet to be determined. The fact is that the officer died.

It reminded me of another incident I experienced as a police chaplain in Toronto a few years back. While doing a ride along in downtown Toronto the Sergeant I was with noticed that the back licence plate of a car we were approaching at a red light, had no sticker. He immediately pulled up beside the car who was about the 5th car in the lineup behind the light, and motioned him to pull over once the traffic cleared out of the way. We were in the curb lane but instead of pulling in front of us, the driver pulled into oncoming traffic and made a quick left turn to another major road.

This was early evening on a Friday summer night but the roads were full of cars. The Sergeant put on his lights and siren and off we went in pursuit. The driver had gotten a big head start and by the time we got on the other street we could see him weaving in and out of traffic, mainly driving on the wrong side of the road. A couple of times the vehicle looked like it was on only two wheels as it swerved to avoid hitting cars head on. The Sergeant slowed down after a couple of blocks because he realized the danger this young man was creating by his reckless driving. By now other drivers were exiting their cars and pointing to where the vehicle had gone: eventually the wrong way on a one way street. We were in a neighbouring division so scout cars from our division and the one we were in, began the search for the vehicle and the driver, who we had seen very clearly when we had pulled up to him.

When the search ended without success, the Sergeant pulled over our car and went on his computer. He had a thought about who the driver was and brought up the photo of a young teenager. I confirmed that it was the same person who was staring at us from his car. He had recently been charged with auto theft and this Sergeant remembered him from the previous case. He was 16 years old and it was believed he also carried a fire arm that he had tried to ditch prior to the recent arrest. We even watched the surveillance video showing him throw it into a garbage container.

Having a history, we knew where he lived and that his father had lied for him and his whereabouts before. It was time for some detective work so we ventured up to his home which again was not in our division. I won't go into any details except to say we gathered some evidence but eventually exhausted all the places we thought this young man might be. We went back to our station and had dinner but then ventured back up to the other division, hoping to catch him in his home area. It was already established that the car he was driving had been stolen but there was no report of that car in the system.

About 1/2 hour later as we were returning to our division and turning onto a fairly empty main street, off in the distance the Sergeant saw what he thought was the stolen vehicle. It was about 2 blocks away so we drove quickly but without lights and sirens and caught up to the car. We took down the licence plate number and then tried to stop the vehicle by pulling in front of it. The young man who now had a passenger as well, decided not to stop and instead crashed into us from behind. As the Sergeant undid his seatbelt he realized our car had come to rest against a streetcar island and therefore opening his door and squeezing out took a few seconds. I stayed in the car since we knew he and his passenger could have had guns. Looking behind me I saw the car pulling away at a high rate of speed backwards with the Sergeant in foot pursuit. After a hundred meters, the car spun around and he raced off. The Sergeant ran back to our vehicle and we took off after the young man despite the damage to our bumper.

I had seen the vehicle for about 3 or four blocks but due to the darkness neither of us saw where the car had turned off. We called in back-up again but it was eventually determined by a detective familiar with the young man that another tactic would be used. They would arrest him at his high school, in class, on the following Monday. That way he couldn't escape. He was arrested without incident and I even got a call from the Staff Sergeant letting me know. Apparently everyone knew that the Chaplain had been involved in the craziness. A few poked fun at me suggesting they were surprised I still wanted to come for ride alongs after that experience.

All kidding aside, the incident in Calgary reminded me of this personal encounter with young men who don't seem to value life. It also reminded me of the danger our cops face every day and at times from the most unexpected criminals. So when people cry out that Black Lives Matter, I am ever mindful that All Lives Matter: that includes our Cops!