Eleven days ago an RCMP officer, David Wynn, was brutally gunned down in St. Albert, Alberta. The officer and a partner were responding to a stolen vehicle report and had located the suspect in the nearby casino. As they were arresting him the suspect quickly shot the officer in the head. The suspect , Shawn Rehn, was later found dead of self inflicted wounds.
My sympathy goes out the the officer's wife and family and the larger family of RCMP.
These two officers had no idea of who they were arresting. The dispatcher had no idea who they were asking these officers to find.
Who was the suspect? He was Shawn Rehn and his criminal record was horrendous.
Shawn Rehn had a record of 57 convictions...assault, assault with a weapon, drug possession, possession of prohibited firearms, obstruction of a peace officer, escape lawful custody, drive while disqualified, break and enter, theft and possession of stolen property. At the time of Shawn Rehn's death he was facing 30 outstanding charges. I would also have to think about how many offenses he had committed and had not been charged.
Shawn Rehn had served about 7 years at various times.
My question is , "Why was Shawn Rehn allowed the be free on the street?"
Shawn Rehn was given parole which he blatantly violated.
The situation is that this creep was on the street and there were many reasons for him not to be free. The system completely failed to adequately look after such a criminal. Obviously the justice system failed along the way to cooperate and share information that would have kept Rehn incarcerated. Our laws give all kinds of support and guidance in looking after a such a career criminal. The whole system failed.
As a result an RCMP lost his life. What a waste.
I to wonder sometime not understanding why the system don't work. So sad.
ReplyDeleteYou said it well, that we don't understand why the system doesn't work.
DeleteYou are right, something didn't work in this case. Computerized data systems are expensive, but are really needed to insure communication. A guy with his record should be locked up, or certainly monitored.
ReplyDeleteLaw enforcement officers nver know when they may find themselves in a threatening situation. It's no wonder they are fearful and therefore forceful when making arrests. Compliance to an officer's command is essential for that reason.
Monitoring did not work with this guy. The only solution was to keep him locked up.
DeleteIt happens here but rarely. It is an awful waste of a life.
ReplyDeleteWe also rarely have police killed. Our murder rate has been decreasing for 20 years.
DeleteFor the families, all they can do is to honour our RCMP's life. We are powerless against evil men who take power with guns.
ReplyDeleteI believe we err on the side of the perps in many cases.
It would seem obvious that some guys have to be locked up because they break every rule in the book.
DeleteI saw this in the news. Very heartbreaking. This was a career criminal and he should have been locked up for life. There are some people that are lost causes and can never be rehabilitated.
ReplyDeleteYou're exactly right about this guy. The law does have methods to keep these guys locked up.
DeleteWill there be an inquiry or citizen protest to try to prevent such from happening again?
ReplyDeleteThere will be a major inquiry. The head of the RCMP was livid over this situation. It is rare that the top policeman will comment on the law.
Deleteit truly is a wonder how some can get severe sentences and others seem to walk away from their crimes and continue their evil ways. i'm sorry for all those touched by the loss of that officer.
ReplyDeleteI'm afraid many errors were made in this case.
DeleteSad when someone feels the world owes him everything for some reason.
ReplyDeleteI think this guy was very sick and deranged. The court system didn't know how to handle him.
DeleteWhile I believe in rehabilitation, there are people in the system who will never change. At the risk of sounding like the PM's base, this guy should have been locked away for the rest of his days.
ReplyDeleteThe PM's base want ti white wash everybody. You want decisions to be made about the individual.
DeleteSo so sad and tragic. My thoughts and prayers are with Mr. Wynn's family. He should have been behind bars though, as you suggest. Sad...
ReplyDeleteHopefully something will be learned and action will be taken to prevent such a thing from happening again.
DeleteMy (lawyer) hubby would be the first to agree that the entire justice system here needs an overhaul!!! And this is a guy who should have been declared a dangerous offender and never given parole. Many people are deserving it, but not a man like him. So sad that the officer had to lose his life the parole board released someone who should never have been set free. :(
ReplyDeleteI think that there are things in the system that can be used. Somewhere the system didn't perform.
DeleteHow is it that the officer wasn't warned about the danger of this fellow? What a terrible loss. My sympathies to the family.
ReplyDeleteThere will be an inquiry and some of this might come out.
DeleteWhat a horrible loss. Prayers for the families....
ReplyDeleteEverybody loses.
DeleteVery sad. I don't understand the justice system anymore. They give them 10 years for manslaughter and let them walk after 18 months..I've seen that. Prayers for the family.
ReplyDeleteI'm all for treating each person as an individual In other words I don't buy into a one size fits all. This guy was just missed. Why?
DeleteHow very awful. I agree that some people walk when they should be locked up, and others serve steep sentences when they did little to use it. It's mysterious to me.
ReplyDeleteThe errors are what stick out. for the most part the justice system gets it right.
DeleteWhat sad news. I am puzzled about Wants and Warrents what good is it to issue them if no one is looking for them? I know of an individual who has a warrent out on him for a parole violation and his rap sheet is quite long...I keep hoping he will get picked up..but no dice. I am not certain anything can be done about these individuals except keep them in jail for the maximum amount of time...maybe with no parole. :(
ReplyDeleteSometimes I think there are too much systems, protocols and rules. People don't have an overview anymore and work in isolation. Than mistakes happen because the sytem doesn't work.
ReplyDeleteThe "SYSTEM" works only for the CRIMINAL ELEMENT. Unfortunately there are all kinds like this guy that are out on our streets in Canada, FREE, WILLING AND ABLE TO DO HARM TO OFFICERS, AND PEOPLE IN GENERAL. I feel so sad that another good officer has been lost. Ya know, even if a person takes a life, they don't get "LIFE". They have rights, afterall. Criminals have more rights and it gets worse. These friggin cowards always shoot themselves and you what really burns me - sex offenders served their time and are living next door to you, WHAT????? This happened to a friend of mine until he offended again and got a slap on the wrist. Yeah, some people should just be put on an island and fend for themselves. Sorry, I sound so brutal.
ReplyDeleteMy son, newly badged and working in Edmonton was off duty that night. As I heard the news unfold, I was grateful for that. He, on the other hand, offered his help while they were still searching for this guy. He did attend the funeral.
ReplyDeleteSadly, I think this sort of grave omission happens all the time. It's only when it plays out something like this, that we become aware.
How sad.......
ReplyDeleteThat's really sad. I have often felt that the "Justice" system often spends more time concerned about the criminals' rights, than the victim's rights. Sad, but true.
ReplyDeleteSo right. I feel same way as you all. He should not walk. Lock him up.
ReplyDeleteIt's sad but it's also infuriating that somehow amidst all the wonderful people in the world, these people who have no conscience are getting more and more common. Yes, there is a problem with the laws and protocols and rights of criminals and all that, but the real problem is in the fact that there are more and more of these people who are so messed up inside. Unless we can fix them, help them before they get to this point, we will continue to be trying to contain a problem that seems only to be getting more out of hand. It's one of the reasons I stayed in high school teaching so long.
ReplyDeleteI'm sitting here shaking my head. It's the same in the U.S., of course. Our justice system is far, far from perfect. There are so many times when we just can't understand why a minor offense is given such a terrible sentence and a violent murderer is let out after 10 years. It's crazy.
ReplyDeleteI have real difficulty with my feelings on this. I used to be of the view that everyone was 'saveable'. Now I think that some people are just so plain downright bad that they are not. The problem is finding the balance and for society as a whole to sort out which is which and act accordingly.
ReplyDelete