Vernon RCMP officers have paid their respects to a colleague who died in the line of duty.
Medical analysis was conducted in Vernon Friday on Const. Sarah Beckett, who died April 5 in Langford, on Vancouver Island.
“According to the coroners’ office, it was a matter of who was available,” said Const. Jocelyn Noseworthy, of the Vernon RCMP, as to why the analysis was done here.
Once the coroner’s duties were completed, a procession of about eight police cars transported Beckett to the Vernon Airport for a flight to Victoria.
Noseworthy says the loss of an officer is felt by everyone within the RCMP.
“While we are a large force, we are a small community,” she said.
Beckett died after her police cruiser was hit by a pickup truck at about 3:30 a.m April 5.
The 32-year-old officer had been with the RCMP since 2005, serving in Port McNeill and most recently with the Langford detachment since 2009. She leaves behind her husband and two small children.
The driver of the pickup was arrested but subsequently released from custody. He has not been charged, and the investigation is ongoing
— with files from the Goldstream News Gazette