TOUGH ON CRIME

I promised to pound my pens into plow shears. However, a recent
letter from Diane Davies discrediting the Abbotsford Police deserves
a response.

As a retired Abbotsford police officer who has been awarded with two
Governor General Medals for 30 years of exemplary service as well as
the first recipient of the Abbotsford's Outstanding Community Service
Award, I would like to relate an incident which I was personally
drawn into while alone and on routine patrol in the Garden Park area
of Abbotsford.

It was around 2 a.m. on a dark and cold night, when I noticed two
parked vehicles "" one of which I knew belonged to a local drug dealer.

Realizing that a drug deal was probably going down, I did my duty and
hastened to intervene.

I swung into the park and rapidly approached the suspects.

I observed a male person hurry over to a truck where he released a
huge white pitbull from the front cab and started walking towards me.

This was going to be a game of intimidation, and this person was
expecting me to be afraid to exit my patrol vehicle.

On the contrary, I stepped out to confront him, but not before
releasing my 12 gauge shotgun from its clasp and racking a live round
into the chamber.

I aimed directly at the dog and commanded that it be placed back into
the truck.

The suspect complied immediately, as there ought to have been no
doubt that I meant business and that pitbull was going to succumb to
a 00 shotgun shell.

I was now in control, and with covering units on the scene, we
completed our duties without any further problems, albeit I didn't
feel good about being denied the privilege of eliminating another
potential hazard from our community.

That is an example of what police officers are unexpectedly faced
with, and our entire community commends them for their valour and
determination.

I want to salute the two Abbotsford police officers who were involved
in this latest incident, and raise a toast to them and the entire
force for their valued service.

That, Ms. Davies, is how one gets tough on crime.

John Skorupa