REGINA - The commanding officer of the RCMP in Saskatchewan was among those giving victim impact statements Friday on the manslaughter death of Cst. Shelby Patton.
Assistant Commissioner Rhonda Blackmore, Commanding Officer of the Saskatchewan RCMP, provided a victim impact statement at the sentencing proceedings for Alphonse Stanley Traverse, the individual who plead guilty to manslaughter in connection to the death of RCMP Cst. Shelby Patton.
Patton, who was with Indian Head RCMP detachment, was fatally injured after being run over by a truck in Wolseley in June 2021.
Assistant Commissioner Blackmore was among several individuals, including family members of Cst. Patton, who provided victim impact statements at the sentencing hearing for Traverse held Friday at Regina’s Court of King’s Bench. The sentence is expected to be handed down on Feb. 29.
What follows is the full transcript provided by the RCMP of the written statement by Blackmore which she delivered verbally in court Friday.
“My name is Rhonda Blackmore. I am an Assistant Commissioner and the Commanding Officer of the RCMP in Saskatchewan. I oversee policing conducted by the RCMP for this province.
"June 21, 2021 is a date that is forever etched in my mind. On that beautiful, sunny Saturday morning, I received the devastating news that Cst. Shelby Patton had been killed while responding to a call of a stolen vehicle. A stolen vehicle - a call that happens weekly, if not daily in many of our communities in Saskatchewan and across Canada. Here was a member sworn to protect the public who had been killed for no other reason than doing this job. I can only describe that news as devastating and I am not sure that adequately describes the impact Shelby's death had on myself and the employees of the RCMP in this province.
“As the Commanding Officer, I have a responsibility to ensure the employees of the RCMP in Saskatchewan have the training, tools and equipment needed to be able to do their jobs as safely as possible. However, on June 12, 2021 I couldn't do anything further to protect Constable Patton because there were individuals who were intent on getting away with a crime - being in possession of a stolen vehicle, and had complete disregard for Shelby's life in doing so.
“Given I was the Commanding Officer, I felt it was my responsibility to notify Cst. Patton's wife of his death. I went to Indian Head detachment where Cst. Patton's colleagues were reeling from the devastating news that he had been killed. Cst. Patton's wife was not at home, however received word that we were looking to speak to her and arrived at the detachment. She knew something was terribly wrong, however when I delivered the news to her that Shelby was gone, I watched her entire world collapse. I have done numerous next of kin notifications during my 28-year policing career and they are all difficult and tragic for the family receiving the news their loved one has passed away. But this was different for me. This was so much more personal. Here was a young man who was called out to try and apprehend the individuals responsible for stealing a vehicle, who was doing exactly what he always did as a proficient, competent and proud RCMP police officer – protecting his community. Cst Patton was one of the young members I feel a responsibility to protect. To work as hard as I can to ensure these men and women return to their families after each shift. And yet on this day, I wasn't able to do that. I had to tell this young woman that she was a widow and that Shelby would not be coming home. Shelby had been targeted simply because he was doing his job. Because of the uniform he wore that represented the commitment to keep the people of his community safe from those who have complete disregard for the laws of this country and for human life.
“Few people recognize the dangers police officers face daily. It is an incredibly difficult and challenging time to be a police officer. Cst. Patton signed up to make the world a safer place – to protect the vulnerable and to try to positively impact people's lives. When people say police officers sign up to do this job knowing they could die, that is callous. To normalize the loss of a police officer's life as 'just part of their job' is the beginning of the loss of our humanity. We continue to see increasing violence towards our members. Individuals who are intent on breaking the law and have complete disregard for human life as they work to achieve their nefarious ambitions. Cst. Patton responded to the call of a stolen vehicle on that Saturday morning, put on his uniform and went to protect the public and to maintain respect for the law. He should not have had to pay for that with his life. But he did. And as a result, so many lives were torn apart and forever negatively impacted. His family of course were crushed by the loss. So too were his colleagues. Those who were posted to the same detachment as him. Who hours before had worked alongside him to keep the communities they were responsible for, safe.
“On the day Cst. Patton's body was transported from Regina to Wolseley I walked along the highway at Indian Head, where local citizens had come out to pay their last respects to Shelby. I walked the almost 2 kilometres length of parked cars and spoke to the individuals who were there. Many of these people relayed personal stories and encounters with Cst. Patton. Teachers from the school who told me how Shelby was so committed to positively impacting young people. An individual who told me the only thing Cst. Patton couldn't do was to be 'bad cop', because he was too nice of a person to do that. Nurses from the hospital who spoke about how Shelby treated everyone he dealt with, regardless in what capacity they had encountered each other, be it another professional, an individual he had arrested or someone who was a victim of crime, with the utmost respect. I only wish Cst. Patton's life had been afforded the same respect on that Saturday morning so that he wouldn't have paid with his life for simply putting on his uniform and wanting to protect his community. We will never know the amazing things Cst. Patton could have accomplished if he had been given the opportunity to have a full career as an RCMP member. I can imagine the things he would have done would have changed lives for the better. But he was not given that opportunity due to a senseless act that claimed his life. Losing Shelby was a huge loss for the RCMP and we will forever feel the void without his presence as part of our RCMP family.”
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