Two Edmonton police officers will never be going home..Const. Travis Jordan, 35, and Const. Brett Ryan, 30 were ambushed — shot and killed — when responding to a domestic dispute call early Thursday morning. The unidentified 16-year-old boy who ambushed them then killed himself..Jordan and Ryan rushed to help someone in distress. That’s what police officers do multiple times on every single shift, in this chaotic, angry, dangerous, lost, drunken, drug-crazed, hurting, selfish, messed-up world..These two young officers — intending to protect the vulnerable and to bring calm to a storm — paid with their lives when they answered that call for help. The void these deaths leave in countless lives — their families, fellow EPS members, people in the community they rescued, comforted, protected, and helped along the way — can never, ever be filled. For those closest to them, time may make the pain more gentle, but it will never make it go away. It’s a heavy burden they just shouldn’t have to bear..Like many certainly, my initial reaction was an overwhelming sadness about the senseless loss of two lives and empathy for those left to mourn and somehow carry on without them..Then I felt angry contempt for fools who wail about defunding the police..And for those who mock and surround police in tense situations with phone cameras hoping to ‘catch’ them doing something wrong..And for armchair critics who live safe lives, knowing nothing about the ever-present risk of injury and death police face or the constant heartbreaking scenarios to which they are exposed..Those clueless morons could never live up to the bravery and honour that police constantly exhibit. They have no comprehension of the worry and anxiety that tugs at the hearts of families of police every time their loved ones walk out the door to go on shift..My contempt for fools who disrespect police is hardly new..I knew two officers who were murdered on the job, one much better than the other..One was brutally ambushed chasing down a $20 gas theft. The other was mercilessly ambushed while chasing down bank robbers. For many in Edmonton, the deaths of Jordan and Ryan will surely open wounds, that even decades later never quite healed.. Ezio FaraoneConstable Ezio Faraone, killed in 1990 while trying to arrest a bank robber. .And bring back a flood of memories from the dark day Const. Ezio Faraone was killed..On June 25, 1990, Faraone, 33, was chasing Albert Foulston, fleeing a bank robbery. Faraone was shot with a sawed-off shotgun by Foulston’s partner Jerry Crews, who ambushed him while hiding like a coward in the back seat of a vehicle..Faraone, an endearing guy with a brilliant dry sense of humour, mercifully, died instantly..Foulston, convicted of manslaughter, served a 20-year sentence. He was on parole at the time of Faraone’s death..Crews was sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder..Those who loved Faraone were sentenced to a life without him..One of his dearest friends was deeply scarred, forever changed, by a grief that he took with him to his early grave.. Special Const. Gordon KowalczykSpecial Const. Gordon Kowalczyk, killed in a traffic stop over $20 worth of gas. .So, when Foulston, a remorseless career criminal and drug addict, was found dead in his home of an overdose in March 2016, I shed no tears. I had to leave compassion and forgiveness up to God..RCMP Special Const. Gordon Kowalczyk was ambushed during a traffic stop..I met him when working my way through college at the Calgary International Airport..This kind soul loved to share stories about what was dearest to his heart — his three young children..I once asked him if he was afraid of patrolling the isolated area roads alone in the night in his cruiser. He admitted that he was..But he did his job anyway..That’s what police do..Just after midnight January 16, 1987, 35-year-old Kowalczyk’s body was found on 2A highway near Crossfield..He had been shot six times, once at close range in the face, while he lay dying..Over $20 worth of stolen gas..He was investigating the gas theft when he pulled over a stolen Ford pickup on that dark, isolated road. It's believed he was ambushed when approaching the truck..Andrew Kay, a 21-year-old punk, was sentenced to life without parole for 25 years for first-degree murder. His mother, lover and partner in many crimes, Linda Bowen, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and four armed robberies and was sentenced to 13 years. She was the lookout during the gas theft..On a personal level, I have a lot to be grateful to Kowalczyk for. Like a big brother, he inspired and motivated me, relentlessly pushed at me to never give up, to make something of myself. For some reason, he believed in me. The reason I mention this is because that’s what police officers do for countless people in a multitude of ways..Jordan and Ryan were answering a domestic dispute call, something police must do far too often..How many crying, screaming, terrified children do they comfort?.How many beatings do they stop?.How many lives do they save?.How many dangerous situations do they charge into?.Yet punks sass police and those with less than honourable motivations call to defund them..Shut the hell up..Some of the same municipal politicians who will pour out condolences today will be the same ones who’ll vote tomorrow to cut police funding to compensate for their own poor management of public funds..Parole boards will let loose criminals who should stay locked up..The courts will go easy on serious and repeat offenders..Meanwhile, dedicated police officers will continue to put on their uniforms and head out the door to slug it out in society’s muck, not knowing what awaits them..Right now, Edmonton officers grieving the deaths of Jordan and Ryan are out there on the job trying to hold it together. Others are getting ready to go on shift..You know why? The public desperately needs them..God keep them safe and comfort all who are grieving.
Two Edmonton police officers will never be going home..Const. Travis Jordan, 35, and Const. Brett Ryan, 30 were ambushed — shot and killed — when responding to a domestic dispute call early Thursday morning. The unidentified 16-year-old boy who ambushed them then killed himself..Jordan and Ryan rushed to help someone in distress. That’s what police officers do multiple times on every single shift, in this chaotic, angry, dangerous, lost, drunken, drug-crazed, hurting, selfish, messed-up world..These two young officers — intending to protect the vulnerable and to bring calm to a storm — paid with their lives when they answered that call for help. The void these deaths leave in countless lives — their families, fellow EPS members, people in the community they rescued, comforted, protected, and helped along the way — can never, ever be filled. For those closest to them, time may make the pain more gentle, but it will never make it go away. It’s a heavy burden they just shouldn’t have to bear..Like many certainly, my initial reaction was an overwhelming sadness about the senseless loss of two lives and empathy for those left to mourn and somehow carry on without them..Then I felt angry contempt for fools who wail about defunding the police..And for those who mock and surround police in tense situations with phone cameras hoping to ‘catch’ them doing something wrong..And for armchair critics who live safe lives, knowing nothing about the ever-present risk of injury and death police face or the constant heartbreaking scenarios to which they are exposed..Those clueless morons could never live up to the bravery and honour that police constantly exhibit. They have no comprehension of the worry and anxiety that tugs at the hearts of families of police every time their loved ones walk out the door to go on shift..My contempt for fools who disrespect police is hardly new..I knew two officers who were murdered on the job, one much better than the other..One was brutally ambushed chasing down a $20 gas theft. The other was mercilessly ambushed while chasing down bank robbers. For many in Edmonton, the deaths of Jordan and Ryan will surely open wounds, that even decades later never quite healed.. Ezio FaraoneConstable Ezio Faraone, killed in 1990 while trying to arrest a bank robber. .And bring back a flood of memories from the dark day Const. Ezio Faraone was killed..On June 25, 1990, Faraone, 33, was chasing Albert Foulston, fleeing a bank robbery. Faraone was shot with a sawed-off shotgun by Foulston’s partner Jerry Crews, who ambushed him while hiding like a coward in the back seat of a vehicle..Faraone, an endearing guy with a brilliant dry sense of humour, mercifully, died instantly..Foulston, convicted of manslaughter, served a 20-year sentence. He was on parole at the time of Faraone’s death..Crews was sentenced to life in prison for first-degree murder..Those who loved Faraone were sentenced to a life without him..One of his dearest friends was deeply scarred, forever changed, by a grief that he took with him to his early grave.. Special Const. Gordon KowalczykSpecial Const. Gordon Kowalczyk, killed in a traffic stop over $20 worth of gas. .So, when Foulston, a remorseless career criminal and drug addict, was found dead in his home of an overdose in March 2016, I shed no tears. I had to leave compassion and forgiveness up to God..RCMP Special Const. Gordon Kowalczyk was ambushed during a traffic stop..I met him when working my way through college at the Calgary International Airport..This kind soul loved to share stories about what was dearest to his heart — his three young children..I once asked him if he was afraid of patrolling the isolated area roads alone in the night in his cruiser. He admitted that he was..But he did his job anyway..That’s what police do..Just after midnight January 16, 1987, 35-year-old Kowalczyk’s body was found on 2A highway near Crossfield..He had been shot six times, once at close range in the face, while he lay dying..Over $20 worth of stolen gas..He was investigating the gas theft when he pulled over a stolen Ford pickup on that dark, isolated road. It's believed he was ambushed when approaching the truck..Andrew Kay, a 21-year-old punk, was sentenced to life without parole for 25 years for first-degree murder. His mother, lover and partner in many crimes, Linda Bowen, pleaded guilty to manslaughter and four armed robberies and was sentenced to 13 years. She was the lookout during the gas theft..On a personal level, I have a lot to be grateful to Kowalczyk for. Like a big brother, he inspired and motivated me, relentlessly pushed at me to never give up, to make something of myself. For some reason, he believed in me. The reason I mention this is because that’s what police officers do for countless people in a multitude of ways..Jordan and Ryan were answering a domestic dispute call, something police must do far too often..How many crying, screaming, terrified children do they comfort?.How many beatings do they stop?.How many lives do they save?.How many dangerous situations do they charge into?.Yet punks sass police and those with less than honourable motivations call to defund them..Shut the hell up..Some of the same municipal politicians who will pour out condolences today will be the same ones who’ll vote tomorrow to cut police funding to compensate for their own poor management of public funds..Parole boards will let loose criminals who should stay locked up..The courts will go easy on serious and repeat offenders..Meanwhile, dedicated police officers will continue to put on their uniforms and head out the door to slug it out in society’s muck, not knowing what awaits them..Right now, Edmonton officers grieving the deaths of Jordan and Ryan are out there on the job trying to hold it together. Others are getting ready to go on shift..You know why? The public desperately needs them..God keep them safe and comfort all who are grieving.
