The shooting deaths of five police officers in Dallas Thursday night are leaving many in Moncton reliving the violent deaths of three RCMP in officers in June 2014.
As news broke, former RCMP officer Terry McKee says the events in Moncton just over two years ago came back to life.
“The fear, the anxiety, the stress, the emotions that not only the police force but the community went through,” says McKee.
That was the day after a gunman killed Codiac RCMP Constables Dave Ross, Fabrice Gevaudan and Douglas Larche.
“You remember what you were doing and how it affected you,” says McKee. “What I noticed was before he was caught – I don't want to say his name – how silent it was outdoors.”
Brian McCully and his friends thought it was appropriate to stop at the RCMP memorial on the shores of the Petitcodiac River on Friday.
“It's just hard to understand why anything like that happens,” says McCully. “You relive that day.”
McKee calls the shooting a “direct and senseless act of terror.” In a show of solidarity, the Mounted Police Professional Association sent a letter of condolence early Friday morning to Chief David Brown of the Dallas Police Force.
“Our brothers and sisters we mourn for and we pray for a speedy recovery of those who are wounded and injured, and hope the community will come together and support their police just as they did here in Moncton with our tragedy,” says McKee.
McKee says that support helped the healing process.
“As you can see, we've managed to regain our empowerment as a community and as a police force,” he says. “From my perspective as a citizen now, and it's something that I can only hope for for Dallas.”
McKee anticipates a large contingent of officers from the RCMP will head to Dallas for the funerals of the officers killed.
With files from CTV Atlantic’s Jonathan MacInnis.
