Paul Bickford
Northern News Services
Published Monday, November 12, 2007

HAY RIVER - About a month after going through its own nightmare of having a police officer shot and killed, Hay River knows all too well the anguish now being experienced in Kimmirut.

On Nov. 5, RCMP Const. Douglas Scott, 20, was shot and killed in the tiny Nunavut community.

"It's like it happened next door again," said Hay River resident Joanne Barnaby.

"It's heartbreaking," she added. "It's terrible for the police and it's terrible for the community."

Dawna O'Brien, another Hay River resident, felt heartsick upon hearing the news from Nunavut.

"It's still shocking about Const. (Christopher) Worden, so it was doubly shocking to hear it had happened again so soon," she said.

O'Brien said it must be even more shocking for Kimmirut since the accused killer is from the community, unlike in Hay River where an Alberta man has been charged with Worden's death.

"But there's no solace to be had in that," she added.

Hay River Mayor John Pollard said residents have asked him what's going on in society and whether some people think it's now acceptable to shoot someone else.

"I don't think we know what's going on," Pollard said.

One person even raised the issue of whether it is time to bring back the death penalty for killers of peace officers.

Pollard said he saw similarities in the ways Kimmirut and Hay River reacted to the shootings.

"It's the same sort of thing as we had," he said. "The people are just shocked and want to do something."

Hay River North MLA and Speaker of the legislative assembly Paul Delorey wondered what the two tragic shootings mean for the North, adding they bring up the issues of respect for the law and for authority.