When shots are fired, the criticism of police tends to be severe, but those incidents are aberrations, not the rule. Almost daily, police officers, through skill and patience, are able to defuse dangerous situations with no injury or loss of life.
Two such incidents occurred in Greater Victoria in the past few days. Last Friday, police went to an apartment in James Bay after a call about a man believed to be in mental distress. Because police believed the man had access to firearms, the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team and crisis negotiators were called in.
After six hours of negotiations, the man surrendered peacefully and was taken to the hospital for mental evaluation. Firearms were found in the apartment.
On Monday afternoon, police were called to a home on East Saanich Road after receiving a call that a man was distraught and had guns. Again, hours of negotiation resulted in a peaceful surrender.
In these and similar incidents, heavily armed teams of police officers are standing by, but bullets and brute force are the last tools they want to use. Patience, persuasion and understanding come first, and often succeed. It’s the kind of police work that saves lives and helps keep families intact.
Police constantly place their own lives on the line. Even seemingly innocuous situations, such as traffic stops, can erupt into violence.
A man rammed his truck into five parked police cars in Winnipeg this week and led police on a long highway chase before being captured. Apparently, he was enraged at receiving a ticket for talking on his cellphone while driving.
Few jobs are as demanding as police work, physically and psychologically. Jokes are made about having it easy, sitting all day in a car, with a few breaks for doughnuts, but that is far from reality. A police officer is required to wear equipment — gun, armoured vest, flashlight, radio, etc. — that can weigh up to 10 kilograms. And officers get in and out of cars many times a day. Knees, backs, hips and shoulders suffer as a result.
Police work doesn’t stop for weather. Hot sun or freezing cold temperatures are not mere discomforts when you can’t take shelter from them. In addition, police are constantly exposed to risks of hazardous substances and disease.
Racing a car down the road with the lights and siren going might seem exciting to addicts of police-chase videos, but it’s a stressful experience for those involved. They have to be aware of the dangers to themselves, other drivers and the subject of the pursuit. Split-second decisions are required.
Because of the ever-present risk of attack, they must be constantly alert and aware, which also results in physical and mental stress. In addition, shift work, overtime and the constant danger erode marriages and family life.
It’s no easy thing, with all that stress, to respond to violence with restraint, to answer threats and insults with calm reasoning.
It’s a kind of quiet heroism that saves lives, and too often goes unrecognized.
