West Shore RCMP officers continue to honour Const. Sarah Beckett, who was killed while on duty five years ago, says Insp. Todd Preston.
The 32-year-old married mother of two young boys was killed when her marked police car was struck broadside by an impaired driver on Goldstream Avenue at Peatt Road at 3:27 a.m. on April 5, 2016. She was the first female police officer to die on duty in B.C.
“Over these past five years, there have been many changes at the West Shore RCMP detachment. Staff have come and gone through the detachment doors however, the spirit and memory of Const. Sarah Beckett remains very much alive,” Preston wrote in a statement released to the media on Monday.
“We, along with the community she served, remember her each time we pass her memorial inside the foyer of the detachment; when we visit the garden planted out front of the detachment; or when we take our families to play at the Sarah Beckett Memorial Playground.”
Since her death, West Shore officers have worked to identify and remove impaired drivers from the roads, Preston said. Officers have conducted investigations resulting in more than 900 impaired driving-related charges.
“These investigations were successful, in part, because of the public’s assistance. We are very fortunate to have a supporting community that contributes immensely to the safeguarding of our public safety,” he wrote.
Kenneth Jacob Fenton, the driver who struck Beckett, pleaded guilty to impaired driving causing death. In July 2017, he was sentenced to four years in prison. He was driving drunk the morning he killed Beckett. The blood sample drawn at Victoria General Hospital was more than 3.5 times the legal limit.
