Police officers from across Vancouver Island gathered in Victoria late Thursday morning to honour a fallen comrade.
More than 100 officers and dozens of emergency vehicles gathered outside Victoria General Hospital for a procession that took the body of Cst. Sarah Beckett to the Victoria Airport. From there, the body will be flown to Vernon.
Cst. Beckett was killed Tuesday when her RCMP cruiser collided with a pick-up truck.
Officers have been positioning themselves along the motorcade route to the airport.
Beckett’s West Shore detachment is providing the main escort.
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View Royal Fire Chief Paul Hurst says Sarah’s death is tearing the department apart.
“Everyone is really numb,” said Hurst. “It is sickening and it should not have happened.”
He calls Beckett an exceptional member, wonderful mother, colleague and friend.
“She was a stand-out member. She was a good cop. She had a strong ethic,” he said. “The thing about Sarah was her compassion. She treated everyone that she dealt with, with dignity. It didn’t matter if you were a good guy or a bad guy, she was fair.”
Hurst says a lot of their members knew Beckett personally.
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“When you lose a member like this so tragically and so senselessly, it is like a piece of us dies,” Hurst said.
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Bob Burr with BC Ambulance Service was on the call when Beckett died, but didn’t know her personally.
“Nobody goes to work expecting not to make it home that night,” says Burr. “You expect to go home in the morning safe and sound and that did not happen to this officer.”
Tributes for Beckett continue to pour in.
Last night, a group of motorcyclists gathered outside the West Shore RCMP detachment to pay respects to her.
People are also leaving flowers outside the Langford building, while her fellow officers showed their support with a code three drive-by on Wednesday.
A candlelight walk, that will start at the crash scene, is set to be held on Sunday, at 8:30 p.m. So far, more than 500 people have said they will attend.
The West Shore RCMP have set up a book of condolences in the lobby of their detachment.
People can also leave messages online at bc.rcmp.ca.
Meanwhile, the driver of the pickup that struck Beckett’s cruiser was released on Wednesday without charges.
The investigation is ongoing.
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