Bravery commendation comes with a caution

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The way Leonard (Rocky) Wade of Frog Lake tells it, he didn't believe he was in any danger when he rushed to help Cst. Mike Caudron move a female shooting victim to a safe place so she could get medical attention, but that's not the way the RCMP see it.

Wade and Caudron were at RCMP headquarters in Edmonton on May 3 to receive the commissioner's commendation for bravery for demonstrating outstanding courage in the face of danger.

The award recognizes that on Oct. 4, 1998, while responding to a domestic dispute on the Frog Lake First Nation, Wade and Caudron found themselves in a situation that posed a threat of grievous harm, personal injury or death from an armed suspect, and, despite that risk, placed themselves in the suspect's line of fire in an attempt to rescue the female victim.

"I never thought I was in danger, because he was my uncle," said Wade of the man the RCMP call the suspect. His uncle had killed himself before Wade and Caudron arrived at the scene, but that fact was not known to the rescuers. The woman also died of her injuries.

Wade had mixed feelings about receiving the award. He felt the incident was behind him. He sought council from his mother and his sisters, who encouraged him to attend the ceremony and accept the award. After all, these commendations aren't given out every day, they told him.

Wade said he was both proud and nervous during the ceremony, and concerned that the enduring impression the community would have of his uncle would be of an angry man. Nothing could be farther from the truth, he said.

"My late uncle, Andrew Abraham, was a great man."

Wade thinks about his uncle every day, and is saddened by his loss. He wants people to understand that it was alcohol that caused the deaths, that alcohol can make good people do terrible things; even an uncle he held in high regard.

"It was a spontaneous thing that happened. It wasn't even planned. They were kind of having some drinks. It's alcohol, you know. It can happen to anybody if you let alcohol control you," cautioned Wade.

His uncle was passing along the teachings of his culture, including the chicken dance, to Wade. And if his uncle didn't have the right to pass along certain knowledge, he arranged for the teachings to come from another person.

"He was like my mentor," said Wade, a traditional dancer, emcee and whistle carrier.

Those lessons were cut short by the tragedy.

"If you have an uncle that's teaching, or your dad, make sure you listen to them while you still have them.

"Me, I was on the verge of being passed the songs by my uncle, and, boom, this happened, through alcohol.... Please listen to them while you still have them, because mine left me."

Wade thinks his uncle is still reaching out to him, trying to help him better himself and he's come to appreciate the risk he took that day four years ago.

"I feel [the commendation] is the highest award the people, a person, can get... For me to get this because of him, he's still probably trying to teach me stuff."

The commendation was presented by RCMP Commissioner Giuliano Zaccardelli. The ceremony was attended by many members of Wade's family, including his son Zane.

"I'm proud of him, what he did," Zane said.