Last night on my way home from running errands I saw the smoke billowing from the west side of the city. With the lack of rain we have been having, fires have been more frequent. My friend pointed out the smoke first, saying that there is something going on over there. My response was that it looks like it is probably a house fire and that I hoped everyone was ok.

Little did I know that an Edmonton Police officer had been killed, another injured and that the suspect was at large. 

My roommate told me what had happened and I immediately reached for my phone to see what was happening on Twitter. The flood of tweets with #yeg #epsstrong filled my screen. 

News came in that the police officer who had been killed was part of the Hate Crimes unit. Wait a minute… We have the need for a Hate Crimes unit?! This is Canada we live in, the country with the reputation of kind people. What is so important out there that respect for other’s rights, self respect and understanding should be pushed aside to cause violence and blood shed? We as Canadians are supposed to band together in our multicultural society and show kindness to everyone around us no matter their ethnicity, income bracket, age, orientation or education. Life should not have been lost last night. 

Our Police men and women work to serve and protect our city and those who live here. I would be proud to hear that a police officer is bored at work. How cool would it be for that to be our reality?? 

Come on world, let’s be a better place!

My thoughts go out to all our EPS members, their families and loved ones. I am sure that there was a lot of people who had sleepless nights last night. And to the family of the slain officer, my heart breaks for you. May he rest in peace and leave a legacy of love, respect and kindness. 

Thank you.

I know this is off tilt from my normal posts but this is something that I feel is very Important and needs to be said. Tomorrow I will be back to my normal genre. Thank you.