Saturday Night Fever

UPDATE SEPTEMBER 5, 2006 - NEWER POST ON IAN BUSH CAN BE FOUND HERE Please post any comments you may have at the new post, as I do not check this post for new comments.

On Saturday night the police in Houston, BC shot and killed a 22 year old man at the detachment.

Ian Jeffrey Bush, 22, was taken into custody after a hockey game on October 29th. Near the end of the game, Bush attempted numerous times to fight with members of the opposing team. The police were forced to arrest him after he would not calm down.

Several hours later, when the police were releasing Bush from custody, he became violent and was shot once to the head by an officer on duty.

An official investigation is being carried out by the crime lab from Prince George.

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Over the last five years, the police force in the Bulkley Valley has changed quite a lot. In Smithers, we have a number of "rookie" cops. Young guys and girls who are in their first or second posting. Although I do not know any officers in Houston, I have done some work at the detachment there and I have seen two cops who are probably younger than me (I am 27). I am not suggesting that these cops have not been trained properly, or that they did not know correct police procedure. Many pundits and reporters in the Canadian MSM were insinuating that the age and inexperience of the four officers killed in Mayorthorpe resulted in their deaths. Hogwash I say.

What I am saying is that Mr. Bush must have been stark raving crazy, and he must have been seen as a threat to the safety of the officers on duty that night. If the official investigation says otherwise, then I will question the motives and methods of the police. However, those cops have an obligation to protect each other, as well as the public at large. If one of these cops saw Mr. Bush as a credible threat to his fellow officer's life, then I fully support the choice he made.

By shooting Mr. Bush, that officer may have saved his own life, and lives of everyone else on staff that night.

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Update 11:33pm - More here and here.

update 9:15am Friday Nov 4 - Still more here, and the second link above has been fixed.