Reality check! Turns out some people don’t like police funerals
This letter to the editor published in a Canadian newspaper is not easy to read. But we are bringing it to your attention because the views of the writer are more common than you might think.
To the editor:
Whether one agrees or disagrees with the actions of protestor Eric Brazau, who picketed a police funeral and then was subsequently arrested, you have to admit he does have a valid point. The fact police officers conduct a ceremonial march down the streets of Canadian cities every time an officer is killed raises a number of questions.
First, contrary to popular myth policing is “not” the most dangerous job in society. A recent survey shows that when compared to loggers, construction workers and garbage men, police do not even make the list of the Top 10 most dangerous jobs when they are ranked in terms of death and serious injury. In fact the survey indicates policing is a lightweight job when compared with other more dangerous occupations in Canada.
Second, there is no other group of public service workers in our society who conduct such a march whenever one of their members is killed on or off the job. When was the last time you saw loggers, firefighters, construction workers or any other public servants conducting such a march?
Third, who is paying for all of these officers to come and attend these funeral processions in mass numbers? The bottom line is that the money comes from taxpayers who pay the salaries of these police officers. Such actions should be prohibited under the Police Services Act of Ontario.
Fourth, instead of coming across as an act of respect for a member who has died on the job the congregation of large numbers of officers marching down our streets in uniform gives the public the impression they are nothing more than an occupied army. The message conveyed by such grandiose displays borders not on respect but intimidation and sends out a message that they are separate and completely distinct from other members of society.
Fifth, there is nothing wrong in showing respect by attending a funeral of an officer who has been killed on or off the job. However doing so by conducting large marches with hundreds of other police officers in uniform as though they are going to war goes way over the top and makes a complete mockery of police community relations and the role of police in a democracy.
Darryl T. Davies, Criminologist, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Carleton University, Ottawa