Sgt. Patty Neely was a long-serving officer in the RCMP. After the murder of George Floyd in Minnesota by policeman Derek Chauvin and controversial RCMP arrests and shootings of Indigenous people in Canada, Neely took to social media to express her feelings..The Western Standard is printing her ‘rant’ unedited..My rant. Feel free to unfriend me..For 26 years, I was a member of the RCMP..Although, unlikely, I never promised my children that I would come home, just that they would be ok..I was hit, punched (and let me tell you, being punched in the ear really hurts), spit upon, cursed, sworn at and threatened, all for doing my job..I missed Christmas, thanksgiving, birthdays and other milestones because my job didn’t end at 5 pm on Friday afternoon..I attended fatal collisions, held the hands of injured and dying people, told mothers, fathers, children that someone they loved was dead..I fought with intoxicated people who felt no pain, I took statements from victims of domestic violence, sex assault, and those who lost their savings to fraudsters..I attended sudden deaths from infants to the elderly and everything in between..I attended autopsies of people killed by those who supposedly loved them..Investigated people murdered for $40 drug debts. I have seen depravity that most people cannot imagine. I have seen unimaginable grief and helped pick up the pieces of those left behind..I am no longer whole..Policing takes a part of your soul because no one can leave policing whole. There is too much ugliness that I and all police officers face everyday..I went to work everyday to do the best job that I could do. Some days were harder than others. Some days I had a sick child or my mother’s death hanging over me..Some days were rewarding with someone telling you that you made a difference in his or her life. Some days the horrors of yesterday just wouldn’t go away..I did my duty with patience, respect, authority, and compassion. Now, I am a pariah. My profession, my identity, and my efforts to improve the communities where I worked have been diminished..I am not Derek Chauvin..I treated everyone with whom I interacted with respect and decency even when it was hard..I am not perfect. But I cared. Now, it doesn’t matter. We are all Derek Chauvin in the eyes of the people..You’re wrong..I bleed, I care, I can be broken. I am the RCMP. We all are.
