The Starlight Casino Shooting and the Murder Charge that Followed

Today on Bend Don’t Break, your host, Chief Neil Dubord, is joined by Delta Police Officer, Constable Jordan MacWilliams.   Jordan has gone through significant events over the last several years — making him the perfect person to discuss the topic of resiliency in the field. He’s happily married with two young daughters. Currently, he’s seconded, working at The Lower Mainland District Emergency Response Team. He joined the Delta Police Department as a Reserve Constable back in 2007, graduated in 2009, and then worked Patrol until 2012 when he got onto the Emergency Response Team.   Jordan’s story starts on November 8th, 2012, a fateful night in both his life and work. Having been sent to a dangerous hostage situation at Starlight Casino, Jordan has to make one of the toughest decisions of his life for the safety of his colleagues. In this podcast, Jordan details the event that changed his life; how he dealt with it in the following days, months, and years; his thoughts and emotions during and after; how he persevered through his struggle and was able to maintain his committed and engaged attitude throughout; and whether or not he would have done it all differently if he could do it all again.   Key Takeaways: [:59] About today’s show with Jordan. [1:15] Starting off easy, Chief Dubord asks: When was the last time you ate at McDonald’s? [1:35] Jordan’s favourite book and what he’s currently reading. [1:58] Jordan’s current status; life and work-wise. [2:50] Jordan talks about his history working for the Delta Police Department, his family’s lineage within it, and his initial career goals. [4:28] Jordan begins his story, starting with the events that lead up to the fateful Starlight Casino file. [5:55] Continuing his story, Jordan details the events that happened that day. [15:12] Jordan’s thoughts and emotions during the shootout, and the events that followed. [26:33] How the following media coverage impacted Jordan’s life. [28:28] How many days off did Jordan have after everything had happened? What happened when he got back? [32:10] Is there anything the organization could’ve done better for Jordan in this situation? [33:18] Now working in the training unit, Jordan outlines his work in the following months and his wait on more information in the coming years. [37:00] How Jordan dealt with the wait and managed to maintain a committed and engaged attitude during work. [38:25] What Jordan would’ve done differently if he knew what he knows now, going into it all. [40:08] Jordan talks about some of the additional stressors that were in his life at the time. [41:21] Jordan explains what happened for him in 2014. [46:58] A preview of next week’s episode. Tune in next week to hear the rest of Jordan’s story!