Edmonton Police Chief Rod Knecht told reporters Wednesday that while the recent shooting deaths of police officers in Texas and Louisiana were “devastating” and have raised concerns for Edmonton officers and families, he is not worried about any slide in support for his officers.
Knecht spoke to reporters outside police headquarters Wednesday afternoon to address the latest crime figures released by Statistics Canada.
“It’s an absolute tragedy,” Knecht said, referring to the five officers killed by sniper fire in Dallas earlier this month and the three officers recently killed in Baton Rouge. “In my entire service as a police executive, I have had 12 or 13 people die under my command.
“For that to happen in a couple of weeks, that would be unbelievable in the Canadian context,” Knecht said, “I can’t imagine.”
On July 7, a man opened fire on police officers in Dallas just as a peaceful Black Lives Matter rally was wrapping up. Dallas police said the suspect told negotiators he wanted to “kill white people, especially white officers” and had been upset by the recent high-profile killings of black men at the hands of police officers.
READ MORE: Suspect in Dallas police shooting that killed 5 cops ‘wanted to kill white people’
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On Sunday, three police officers were shot and killed in Baton Rouge, the same city where Alton Sterling, a 37-year-old black man, was shot and killed by white police officers on July 5 after a scuffle outside a convenience store. Police have not yet determined a motive for the killings.
READ MORE: Baton Rouge shooting: Gunman ‘was seeking out’ police in ‘ambush’ on 6 officers
“I have not seen problems with the support of the Edmonton Police Service here,” Knecht said.
“We make mistakes and we make mistakes every day but I think as long as we own up to those mistakes (and) we apologize for the errors we make and we don’t repeat those mistakes, I think that’s where the public supports us.”
The EPS saw a huge uprising in support following the death of Const. Daniel Woodall, who was fatally shot on June 8, 2015 while trying to serve an arrest warrant in west Edmonton.
In the wake of the shooting, Edmontonians covered the city in blue ribbons as part of the “EPS Strong” campaign.
Knecht described June 8, 2015 as “my darkest day in the Edmonton Police Service.”
The police-involved shootings and the recent attacks on officers in the U.S. have highlighted the country’s ongoing struggle with race relations. While Knecht wasn’t asked about nor addressed the issue of race in his comments Wednesday, he did say the gun culture south of the border presents a level of tension not experienced in Canada.
On July 6, Philando Castle, a 32-year-old black man, was pulled over while driving and shot and killed by a police officer. His girlfriend and her four-year-old daughter were in the car.
READ MORE: How Philando Castile told police about gun is key to Minnesota shooting investigation
“The most dangerous thing a police officer does is check a car because you don’t know what’s in that car, you don’t know who’s in that car, you don’t know what that car is all about,” Knecht said. “In certain states in the United States, as I understand it, you have carry laws- you know, people can carry guns internally, externally. If you know you’re approaching a car and every time you approach a car there’s a gun, I think you have a different mindset as a police officer.”
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