For all the Americans and Canadians out there

[ThePhoneGoddess]

Apparently some paranoid Michigan cop is being ridiculed all over Canada and on Twitter because of an incident that caused him to write a letter of outrage to a Canadian newspaper over not being allowed to carry his gun while in Canada.

He'd been approached by two young men in Nose Hill Park who asked if the American tourist and his wife had "been to the Stampede yet?" Apparently it was two teenagers giving out tickets to the local Western Heritage Festival. The cop claimed they 'behaved aggressively' and he had to 'step between them and his wife' and curtly informed them they were not going to speak to them. Then he whined about not being able to carry his gun, because it made him feel safe, thanked 'The Lord Jesus Christ' that the two 'bewildered' teenagers didn't pull a weapon on him, and ended his letter with a potshot at Canadian gun policies.


Here's the original letter,

and here is an article about the ridicule he's received.

Here's another one.

I found this extremely amusing and wanted to share.

[gremcint]

I am very glad he didn't have his gun, I'd love to see his reaction to the gun rules in Britain.

[SongsOfDragons]

One of my friends gonked when I told her how restrictive our gun laws are, and told me she wouldn't feel safe. Later she said her father was annoyed that he couldn't get a concealed carry licence - and yes, he had asked the relevant authorities.

I laughed. Mostly at her reactions and because her father's an arse at the best of times.

That's not to say we don't have our share of shootings, though.

As for the idiot Yank...I hear tales of them annoying other cultures all the time! I've had to write a huge and very basic Guide to the UK for a bunch of my American friends who are coming over next year...basically telling them what not to do/say...

[HYHYBT]

If you feel the need to have a gun to "protect" yourself from being handed a flyer, you're exactly the kind of person who shouldn't have one.

[mikoyan29]

It is not just Americans that are annoying when they visit other countries but the ugly American has gotten so much press it's a nice stereotype I guess.

[Rageaholic]

I have to say I was surprised to find out that police in Canada and the UK are not armed. I actually saw a film brain episode in which he bashed a movie for haning British police armed (among other things). Even though in the states, the police always have a sidearm just in case.

At first I thought it was weird, but considering that te average day for many cops are traffic stops and drug busts, I could see it working. I mentioned this in another thread, but cops are trained to expect the worst out of everyone. It doesn't matter what the crime is or if there even was one, you're a wild animal to them. It might explain some of their shifty behavior.

[Gravekeeper]

I have to say I was surprised to find out that police in Canada and the UK are not armed.

It sincerely helps that our cops are not total and complete assholes seemingly by default. There's a difference between training to expect the worst out of everyone and training to always be prepared for the worst case scenario.

I saw a guy on the Skytrain panic when he saw the cops get on ( he didn't have a ticket ) and throw himself at them hoping he could barrel them over and get by them before they asked to see tickets. After subduing him ( with no pummelling involved mind you ) one of the cops spent the next 5 minutes empathically explaining to him why they did what they did and why he shouldn't do what he just did.

Like he took the time so sit there and explain how they had to take him down because from their perspective they didn't know if he was attacking them or if he had a knife or what. So regardless of his intentions they didn't have a choice.

I assume in a good number of areas in the US, they would have just pummelled him half to death, dragged him off and charged him with attempted murder from what I hear on these forums. ;p

[Andara Bledin]

Oh, no. We've got plenty of news stories about how they wouldn't have stopped at half to death and killed the perp outright. And people wonder why suspects who aren't actually guilty of anything sometimes run.

^-.-^

[SongsOfDragons]

Those who need to be are armed (or at least they were - this was related to me a while ago by me cousin who's a detective inspector) but with non-lethal stuff like beanbag guns. Otherwise most British police are nice. ^^

[lordlundar]

I have to say I was surprised to find out that police in Canada and the UK are not armed.

(I'm speaking as someone from Edmonton, so this regards local law enforcement and might not apply across country. I'm pretty sure the RCMP have a similar setup)

Police officers are armed, but we also have a different division called Peace Officers. They do not carry lethal armaments on their person all the time on duty, instead they have batons and Electroshock weapons (aka TASERs) on their person though have access to lethal armaments should the need arise. Beyond that they have all legal authority of a proper Police officer but are often used for more security oriented duties than conventional law enforcement.

EDIT: The truly frightening part to this story is that the guy's first response to being approached by a pair of kids casually asking if they've gone to the Stampede (the Calgary Stampede is THE big event in Southern Alberta so it's more often than not you will find people that are going than not) is to draw a gun. An individual with that level of paranoia has no place on a police force, certainly no place in Canada, and in my personal opinion, even owning a gun.

[siead_lietrathua]

er, canadian police are armed. we have one that comes through the store quite often on her roundabouts to grab a drink. the gun and tazer are both pretty noticeable. then again, this is the podunk, so it's not like another dozen cops are in yelling distance. they probably need both.

to the topic, man that guy rang more than a few alarm bells. and adds more fodder to the "not visiting the states ever" side of my brain.

[wolfie]

One thing for sure - that guy from Michigan who freaked out when someone tried to give him a leaflet about the Stampede was definitely a cop (in the "Hammer's Slammers" sense of the word).

[hinakiba777]

Yeah, Canadian police are armed.

I have read and reread his letter and the impression I get is that the two young men just asked if he had been to the Stampede, and when he ignored them the may have assumed he did not hear them and chose to ask again. I mean, that seems to be the situation. That's normal isn't it? You ask someone a question, they don't respond you attempt to engage them again.

It doesn't seem like the boys did anything untoward. That guy is WAY too paranoid. Remind me to avoid the state of Michigan.

[Panacea]

A friend of mine in college was from Canada; Saskatchewan as it happens. We were watching an episode of Cops one night (a favorite of mine; I love watching the idiots). Her comment to me was in her neck of the woods the RCMP laughed at the Americans cops who needed so much backup just to make a simple arrest.

[Jetfire]

When I'm looking for background noise (before my PVR filled to capacity) Cops and "To Serve and Protect" (Cops with the BC RCMP), were constant favorites, and it was always interesting to see how the two enforcement groups handled similar situations.