To the Editor:
(Re: “Ontario male survives Goat River rapids near Canyon”)
The last paragraph totally surprised me and made me chuckle because I think it refers to me: “The rescue was made more challenging when two males at the scene confronted police officers, challenging them to fight and refusing to leave the site when requested. The males did not want the rescuers on the property, Gollan said. The pair could face obstruction charges.”
My father always said, “There are two sides to every coin,” when he read or watched a news item in the media. So I want to tell you the other side of the coin.
I bet if we really had “confronted police, challenging them to fight”, I would be writing this response from behind bars.
If having an RCMP officer screaming at you from such a considerable distance that we couldn’t tell who he was yelling at, as there were numerous parties around, some on the car bridge, the railroad bridge and the other side of the river, and using the F-bomb every second word, then I guess this can be construed as “refusing to leave the site when requested”.
This was all taking place in my backyard, 30 yards from my back door. I had just come home to find RCMP vehicles had blocked off the Goat River bridge and the RCMP officers in my driveway. Is it out of line to ask someone in charge and expect to have an innocent question answered when in your own backyard? To be met by an excited pair of officers, one of which was threatening arrests and charges, totally blew us away.
Creston Search and Rescue has asked me personally to use my property at the riverbank to practice its rappelling skills and river rescue techniques for the last four years. It annually cleans out debris from the river below the bridges, where kids throw old bikes to TVs to a fridge, a commendable and awesome job to which they don’t get enough credit. However, I guess the police officer and Lorne Eckersley are not aware of this relationship with the Creston Search and Rescue team.
Ask the Creston fire department if I have ever expressed my desire not to have them on my property at any time or on this occurrence perform a rescue. After all, it could be my treasured daughter, my precious grandchildren or any one of my neighbors or friends and relatives, or the many who use the watering hole up river from my place. I would definitely not want to hamper a rescue of any nature willingly.
This officer grabbed my 110-pound daughter on her upper arm and placed his hand on her back and pushed her. She lost her footing and stumbled, almost falling forward upon the embankment of rocks. What would any father think? What could I do? He is a police officer!
I had an after-rescue incident discussion with this same police officer. We agreed if he had approached us in a calmer state, a lot of energy and stress could have been avoided by both parties. I asked if it would be unreasonable if I asked for him to phone my daughter to apologize, to which he readily agreed.
Now, knowing the other side of the coin, you can imagine my surprise when I read the July 19 paper, after the RCMP officer and I had resolved the issue. When did RCMP Staff Sgt. Bob Gollan and Lorne Eckersley receive their information? And why did the article show myself, my friend and daughter in such opposition to the Creston Search and Rescue and RCMP?
Sanderson Segi
Canyon
