Of course, of course, another Xmas shooting, police involved, on Xmas day. Details are scant and I refrain from judging, but follow it - it wasn't the only one, Edmonton, Saskatoon each had their own.
But the story comes out, a picture of the victim - an attractive young woman, all over the papers - not a criminal, merely someone responding badly to the polices predatory chase tactics, a series of poor decisions by the police led to her being shot and the police being acquitted. Of all the people that have been shot by the police in the last 20 odd years, how many have had a gun? Very few. Offering violence with a penknife or ball-point pen is enough to get you shot.
So, try not to dwell on it, but there's someone ahead of me in line, a bit older, and he's looking at the front page of the newspaper in disgust: "They had to shoot HER?". He's in disbelief. And then he starts to tell me...
His daughter was killed a few years ago here. Drive by shooting, random, gang related, wrong-place at the wrong-time. No one's ever been arrested or charged. They don't look for them, these people, they have guns, they're dangerous. He knew the last girl to get shot as well, she was crazy, for sure, but she had only a small penknife, no threat at all, just back away, talk her down, but - ever the heroes, they shot her to death. And I'm feeling his pain, frustration, he seems ok with it but the knowing that your daughter was killed, the police will do nothing to catch the killers, we talk about the increase in homelessness, people in the alleys, breaking into cars, ... we're of the same mind, the police aren't here for us, ...
We say our goodbyes, he's local, I'll see him again.
Disarm the police. Remove the black and white uniforms, cars, armored hummers. We don't need them anymore. For a long time now they've been doing more damage than good.