The father of a young woman killed on Highway 7 has every right to be upset, but the Okotoks RCMP must be able to do their job.
Lou Rosenfeld watched as EMS worked to revive his daughter after she was hit by a car while biking on Highway 7 west of Okotoks on July 4. Rosenfeld is angry the RCMP officers on the scene kept him from being with his daughter.
It is an experience no one would want to endure. Your child is suffering and a parent’s first instinct would be to do whatever they can to be there to comfort their child.
How can one stand in the way of a grieving father wanting to kneel beside his daughter, hold her hand, and try and assure her everything will be okay?
Unfortunately, as difficult as it is to comprehend, it is the RCMP’s responsibility to ensure emergency personnel have adequate room to work and fellow officers can investigate the scene unimpeded.
Police officers have many thankless tasks and none more so than this. Surely, they would like nothing more than to allow a parent to be with their child. It cannot be easy on them, physically or mentally, to restrain a parent overcome with grief.
However, it is their job to keep the accident scene clear. Hopefully, when doing so the RCMP officers are tactful, respectful and compassionate. Rosenfeld said he has had nightmares about not being able to be with his daughter and how he was treated by police.
The RCMP officers deal with fatal accidents every day and certainly they do not sleep easy either.
