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Reblogged from obitoftheday
obitoftheday:
Obit of the Day: A Police Officer’s Obit for a Man Arrested 1000 Times
Officer Kelsie Fraser of the Saskatoon (Saskatchewan, Canada) Police Department wrote a stirring obituary of Mr. Alvin Cote, who was homeless, often drunk, and frequently arrested. Apparently the police officers had a fondness for Mr. Cote and Officer Fraser’s blog post on “Cops and Bloggers” (hello, awesome) shows a side of police work we rarely glimpse.
Here are a couple of excerpts:
Many other officers kept an eye on Alvin over the years and would usually end up giving him parts of their lunch, cigarettes, toques or mittens (which he would always lose), and usually whatever spare pocket change we had. I knew Alvin was continually counting his money as he would ask for some random denomination such as 63 cents. Funny enough, one day he asked my former partner Cst. Robbie Taylor for 63 cents and when Robbie reached in his pocket, he had exactly that amount and graciously gave it to Alvin.
and
I found out today that Alvin passed away a few days ago and, I admit, I feel an emptiness. It will be different as I walk my downtown beat knowing that he will not be in one of the banks and I won’t have to make a special trip to go check on him. As an officer, you encounter many individuals, but you remember certain people because they are special, and Alvin was one such special person. Alvin was not a rich or well accomplished man. He drank daily and chose to make the street his home, but he was tough, he was a fighter, and he was a survivor.
It brings a tear to my eye to think of the bad things that happened to Alvin in his past to push him to lead the life that he led, but in that, I do hope that he will find peace wherever he now may be.
H/t Deadspin.com, of all places
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