Officer Deaths and Seat Belts

In response to your editorial (“A Terrible Loss,” Dec. 14) regarding the accident that took the lives of three police officers, I would like to add some disturbing side notes.

First and foremost would be the concern that one of the cars was traveling the wrong way down a one-way street, disregarding (as I understand it) the code that was issued for this pursuit.

And while this was a truly tragic event, it could have been much worse. There could have been a school bus full of children in the intersection, or a group of people waiting for a bus on that corner. The death toll could have been much higher.

The public has the right to expect its police force to operate within some minimum public safety standards. It is up to those in charge to ensure that public safety standards are maintained.

It is also disturbing that only one officer, the survivor, was wearing his seat belt. How can it be that these officers were in “hot pursuit” and not belted up? Seat belts are mandatory for the general public and they certainly should be mandatory for public servants; especially our police force.

DENNIS BISHOP

Ontario