Off-duty US cop feels threatened in Calgary

[Ian McColgin]

A letter to the editor:

Nose Hill Park confrontation makes visitors feel unsafe

Calgary Herald August 8, 2012

I recently visited Calgary from Michigan. As a police officer for 20 years, it feels strange not to carry my off-duty hand-gun. Many would say I have no need to carry one in Canada.
Yet the police cannot protect everyone all the time. A man should be al-lowed to protect himself if the need arises. The need arose in a theatre in Aurora, Colo., as well as a college campus in Canada.

Recently, while out for a walk in Nose Hill Park, in broad daylight on a paved trail, two young men approached my wife and me. The men stepped in front of us, then said in a very aggressive tone: "Been to the Stampede yet?"

We ignored them. The two moved closer, repeating: "Hey, you been to the Stampede yet?"
I quickly moved between these two and my wife, replying, "Gentle-men, I have no need to talk with you, goodbye." They looked bewildered, and we then walked past them.

I speculate they did not have good intentions when they approached in such an aggressive, disrespectful and menacing manner. I thank the Lord Jesus Christ they did not pull a weapon of some sort, but rather concluded it was in their best interest to leave us alone.

Would we not expect a uniformed officer to pull his or her weapon to intercede in a life-or-death encounter to protect self, or another? Why then should the expectation be lower for a citizen of Canada or a visitor? Wait, I know - it's because in Canada, only the criminals and the police carry handguns.

Walt Wawra, Kalamazoo, Mich.

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

[Ian McColgin]

And a little follow-up:

Lakritz: Kalamazoo police officer's letter to editor about handguns points to cultural divide
*
Off-duty officer from U.S. had uncomfortable confrontation with strangers at Nose Hill Park during Calgary Stampede

By Naomi Lakritz August 8, 2012, Calgary Herald

Yes, Walt Wawra is a real person. No, the letter we published from him Tuesday, about the “confrontation” he and his wife had with two Calgarians in Nose Hill Park, was not a hoax. The fact that so many readers have written in, or posted comments online, wondering if it was for real, speaks volumes about the cultural differences between Canadians and Americans. It gives the lie to those who say that Canadians are no different than Americans.

Wawra, who lives in Kalamazoo, Mich., is a police officer. While on a recent visit to Calgary, he and his wife, Debbie, were approached by two young men on a pathway in Nose Hill Park, who asked the Wawras if they had been to the Stampede yet. When they asked the question a second time, Wawra moved between the men and his wife and told them he had no need to talk to them. He said they looked “bewildered.” The parties then went their separate ways.

In his letter, Wawra said it felt strange not to carry his off-duty handgun in Canada and added that he thanked the Lord they didn’t pull a weapon on him. No benefit of the doubt given the young men, no thought that they might have just been trying to be friendly.

He also complained about Canadian gun laws, saying that in Canada, only the police and criminals carry handguns. Yes, that’s true, and it’s probably one of the reasons when there’s a dispute over a parking space in Canada, nobody dies from bullet wounds as a result.

Wawra’s mindset is what America’s gun mania has produced. How paranoid and how very sad.

Wawra wrote that he speculated the men did not have good intentions. He claims the men spoke in an “aggressive, disrespectful and menacing manner.” Menacing? A question about the Stampede is construed as a menace? Or, as someone commented on the Herald’s website: “... for asking if you had been to the Stampede? Since when is that grounds to be dead?” Another commenter wrote: “I can see why they were frightened. If you rearrange the letters in ‘been to Stampede yet?’ you get “a beset potted enemy’.”

Most likely, the men noticed something about the Wawras that indicated they were tourists, and were trying to make conversation. Maybe they themselves were enjoying the Stampede’s centennial celebration and wanted to let these tourists know that their visit to Calgary wouldn’t be complete without a day at the Stampede. The fact that the young men looked bewildered by Wawra’s response indicates that their intentions were indeed friendly ones and that they were quite puzzled at being rebuffed.

Wawra did not return my call requesting an interview Tuesday afternoon. Too bad. I would have liked to ask him why an American visitor to Calgary would treat a friendly encounter in a city park here as if it were a midnight stroll through a drug-dealer infested alley on the south side of Chicago. One can only stand open-mouthed at the knee-jerk mindset of suspicion, fear and loathing on the mean streets — which is so ingrained in Americans that they can’t leave it at home when they visit another country.

Americans argue that they need to carry guns, because having a concealed weapon makes them feel safe. Their thinking seems to be that at any given moment, they could be under attack from the very next person they meet on the street, and they’ll need to shoot in self-defence. Whereas, when you walk down a street in Canada, you don’t assume that you’re at risk of being suddenly assaulted or killed. You just see ordinary people going about their day and you give their motives no further thought.

And so, Americans, unaware of just how sick their handgun mentality is, continue to fight like crazy to prevent any kind of handgun-control legislation from being implemented. A 9 mm handgun, purchased legally, was the weapon of choice in Oak Creek, Wis., on Sunday when six people were killed and three more wounded by a white supremacist at a Sikh temple. One might argue that if the worshippers had carried guns, they could have killed the guy first. But sitting in a temple armed to the teeth while listening to a sermon about brotherhood and peace is ridiculous.

“Many would say I have no need to carry (a handgun) in Canada,” Wawra wrote. “Yet I have a unique perspective based on years of police experience. The perspective (is that) the police cannot protect everyone all the time. A man should be allowed to protect himself if the need arises... My perspective proved true a few days ago for my wife and I.”

It doesn’t seem to have occurred to Wawra that the need didn’t arise in Calgary, and that if he’d been carrying a handgun, two people might now be dead because they asked him if he’d been to the Stampede.

As an American who is also a Canadian citizen, all I can say is, thank God I live in Canada.

Naomi Lakritz is a Herald columnist. nlakritz@calgaryherald.com

[Paul Pless]

As ridiculous as Walt Wawra's letter to the editor is, the response is even more so.

What a dorkfest. . .

[Captain Intrepid]

Sounds like a real prick. I'm glad he didn't have a handgun, someone might have been hurt for the mortal sin of being friendly to a stranger.

[LeeG]

"well have you punk, HAVE you been to the stampede!??"

[LeeG]

"what about YOU, you been to the stampede?"

[skuthorp]

I wonder if his training did not extend to situation resolution without the possession of a firearm, or uniform for that matter. Or if it was the presence of his wife that made him more nervous? The seeming mindset of seeing a threat where there wasn't one might however be just the reality of his professional life.

[purri]

Dorkdom just is.

[hanleyclifford]

Actually, as a police officer with knowledge of the law, even here in the US, if he had used a gun in this situation the burden of proof would have been on him to prove "immediate danger to life and property". This the situation Zimmerman is in down in Florida.

[Gib Etheridge]

The first time I drifted up into Canada I was hitch hiking around Nova Scotia. One beautiful evening while camping in a park several pickup trucks pulled in nearby and the people started playing country music, drinking beer and boiling up large quantities of lobster. It wasn't long before some jerk walked over and invited me to the party. I declined, knowing full well that they just wanted to get me over there so they could beat the living crap out of me. I stayed awake until every last one of them had left and then slept with knife in hand, just to be safe.

It's amazing what a lifetime of brainwashing and conditioning can do to a person's mind. Look at all of the people who thought they were doing a good thing by going to Vietnam.

I kept visiting Canada though, as unsafe as I knew it was. I was reckless that way. Now I live here and feel as though I moved into a much nicer neighborhood.

[Phillip Allen]

I didn't finish the second letter... I quit when the author implied that we shoot one another over parking spots... that is ignorance on stilts

[Ian McColgin]

Well Phillip, how about Wawra? Think he's right? Think he's the sort of police officer you want in your town?

[Old Dryfoot]

I didn't finish the second letter... I quit when the author implied that we shoot one another over parking spots... that is ignorance on stilts

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/...125402973.html

[Clags]

Phillip - perhaps you needed to finish that second letter!

http://www.pennlive.com/midstate/ind...d_in_shoo.html

and

http://www.thedenverchannel.com/news...33/detail.html

Also as a follow up..... the guys who were "menacing" Wawra were actually trying to give him free tickets to the Calgary Stampede which they were unable to use.

[Phillip Allen]

Well Phillip, how about Wawra? Think he's right? Think he's the sort of police officer you want in your town?

hard to say... he assumes he, himself, is worth protecting but I suppose not mere civilians
also hard to say what the two fellas in the park meant... to make a conclusion about their intentions would be an invitation to bias since we weren't there

I have 'disarmed' would be assailantes in my lifetime and never had a gun with me... there's a sort of trick to it

[ljb5]

I didn't finish the second letter... I quit when the author implied that we shoot one another over parking spots... that is ignorance on stilts

Apparently it happens more often than you're willing to admit:

https://www.google.com/search?q=shoo...+parking+space

Ewing, Denver, Harrisburg, Amityville, New Orleans....

I didn't see any from Calgary. You can check, if you like.

This one was, apparently, a triple shooting.

http://www.wwltv.com/news/crime/trip...133846053.html

[Phillip Allen]

http://www.nbcphiladelphia.com/news/...125402973.html

the exception proves the rule?

do you know of any more and if so what percentage of the overal death rate, etc? Do you mean to say it is a common occurance and the author in the post above is justified in suggesting it is a common occurance?

are you implying that we shoot one another in parking spot disputes?

... or... just what are you telling the rest of us? How about stabbing each other over parking spots? or just hitting one another? what is the preferred method of attack and which do you use?

[Phillip Allen]

Apparently it happens more often than you're willing to admit:

https://www.google.com/search?q=shoo...+parking+space

Ewing, Denver, Harrisburg, Amityville, New Orleans....

I didn't see any from Calgary. You can check, if you like.

This one was, apparently, a triple shooting.

http://www.wwltv.com/news/crime/trip...133846053.html

willing to admit? based on that word, I accuse you of being an a** (sounds like bass)

you are calling me a liar... the onus is on you

(waiting for the appology you claim to make when ever you are wrong)

[Shang]

If flamethrowers are outlawed
Then only outlaws will have flamethrowers.

Support your right to carry concealed flamethrowers!

[Ian McColgin]

"I quit when the author implied that we shoot one another over parking spots... that is ignorance on stilts" [#12]

Phillip, all people have done was show you that gun play over a parking spot does indeed happen around the US. For the Calgary ex-pat to remark on that as an example of our gun culture gone a bit off the rails is hardly "ignorance on stilts". The notion that this happens more than you might have thought follows naturally from your "ignorance on stilts" hyperbole and does not in any way call you a liar, just sedulously self-uninformed.

I recognize that this example, this instance of Canadian amusement at US (you should check out the various blogs and tweets north of the border on this) causes a value conflict because you generally defend civilian gunners, condemn over-the-top police reactions, and personally are one of the fully responsible gun enthusiasts who cannot help but be embarrassed by some of the yahoos.

Just as we who are responsible water vessel operators must hang our heads in shame at some of the strange and dangerous things done stereotypically on jerk-skies and over-powered cigarello "sport" boats but really done in every sort of craft, so the discussion about gun rights would be more rational if those interested in protecting gun rights recognized that there's really a lot of needless carnage going on.

[wardd]

I didn't finish the second letter... I quit when the author implied that we shoot one another over parking spots... that is ignorance on stilts

but we do shoot people for watching a movie or because they attend the wrong church

[Clags]

sedulously self-uninformed.

LOL - sweet

[Phillip Allen]

Tell me, Ian, is the following quote from lj out of line like I am?

"Apparently it happens more often than you're willing to admit"

[Ian McColgin]

Based on your remarks in this thread and given the qualifier "apparently", it appears a legitimate remark. It's corrigible - subject to verification or refutation - though attempting a defense of how carefully and factually you reason out what you write here would be a bit of a digression from the thread itself. Why not instead stick with the basic topic of Wawra's letter and, if you want of Lakritz's going past verifying that Wawra is real and really wrote the letter.

Sometimes staying on topic is the best way to carry on a discussion.

[Phillip Allen]

Based on your remarks in this thread and given the qualifier "apparently", it appears a legitimate remark. It's corrigible - subject to verification or refutation - though attempting a defense of how carefully and factually you reason out what you write here would be a bit of a digression from the thread itself. Why not instead stick with the basic topic of Wawra's letter and, if you want of Lakritz's going past verifying that Wawra is real and really wrote the letter.

Sometimes staying on topic is the best way to carry on a discussion.

I am aware of the qualifier 'apparently', in fact, I use it myself...it still suggests I know something that I'm lying about except he has constructed a 'plausable denial' defense which he apparently knew he would need

still... I'm sure he likes the support

[Canoeyawl]

Objektophilie

[Tom Montgomery]

Also as a follow up..... the guys who were "menacing" Wawra were actually trying to give him free tickets to the Calgary Stampede which they were unable to use.

Makes sense. It sounded to me like they might be attempting to scalp tickets.

No wonder they were bewildered by the response by the U.S. couple. Good thing the off-duty cop/foreign tourist was unarmed.

[ljb5]

I didn't finish the second letter... I quit when the author implied that we shoot one another over parking spots... that is ignorance on stilts

At first, when I read this, I assumed Phillip was calling the author of the second letter ignorant.

Upon further examination, it seems that maybe he was referring to his own ignorance in electing not to read a letter that contained information he prefers not to confront.

Is that what you meant, Phillip?

[Phillip Allen]

Makes sense. No wonder they were bewildered by the response by the U.S. couple. Good thing the off-duty cop was unarmed.

I am willing to accept that they were giving tickets away... however, it seems a contradiction to contend that the cop is mistaken about the danger yet accurate about the bewilderment...in fact it seems pretty subjective to reject one and embrace the other

[Ian McColgin]

Phillip, you made the really outrageous remark "ignorance on stilts" remark as a way of excusing not bothering to read Lakritz's article in full and then look to get all huffy about when several people call you on that. I recommend discussing something to do with the thread - Wawra's letter, Canadian amusement, whatever - rather than discussing yourself.

Wawra really portrayed himself as the very stereotype of the well-armed (or would be well-armed) American. He's also a police officer, of whom on or off duty we expect a level of self-discipline. I think it no wonder the Canadians are amused at the spectacle Wawra is making of our fair land.

[Tom Montgomery]

I am willing to accept that they were giving tickets away... however, it seems a contradiction to contend that the cop is mistaken about the danger yet accurate about the bewilderment...in fact it seems pretty subjective to reject one and embrace the other

The cop's sense of danger was entirely internal. His observation that the two youngsters seemed bewildered by his rebuff is external.

I trust the cop to be telling the truth about both. I wonder why he (and you) seems unable to consider that his reaction may have been irrational?

[Phillip Allen]

The cop's sense of danger was entirely internal. His observation that the two youngsters seemed bewildered by his rebuff is external.

I expect you could explain that better at table... it isn't coming through in this medium

[Phillip Allen]

Phillip, you made the really outrageous remark "ignorance on stilts" remark as a way of excusing not bothering to read Lakritz's article in full and then look to get all huffy about when several people call you on that. I recommend discussing something to do with the thread - Wawra's letter, Canadian amusement, whatever - rather than discussing yourself.

Wawra really portrayed himself as the very stereotype of the well-armed (or would be well-armed) American. He's also a police officer, of whom on or off duty we expect a level of self-discipline. I think it no wonder the Canadians are amused at the spectacle Wawra is making of our fair land.

okay... I was hasty

I'll go somewhere else for a while

[Canoeyawl]

I expect you could explain that better at table... it isn't coming through in this medium

Maybe a better medium?

[Tom Montgomery]

I expect you could explain that better at table... it isn't coming through in this medium

Be specific about what you do not understand about my statement and I'll explain it to you. I'm here to help.

[Tom Montgomery]

The cop felt (internal, subjective feeling) threatened and reacted by rebuffing the two youngsters. He then observed (objective, verifiable by others, such as his wife) that the two youngsters appeared bewildered by his response.

I trust the cop is telling the truth.

I wonder why both he and you seem unable to consider that his subjective feeling was mistaken.

[Clags]

If its any consolation Philip, we do have gun toting idiots here in Canada as well.

http://www.citytv.com/toronto/cityne...r-parking-spot

We do feel, though, that we would have far fewer of them if the US did not make access to guns so easy which facilitates smuggling.

If Mr. Wawra thinks of sunny Nose Hill Park and a couple of friendly (if apparently socially tone deaf) young guys as a signal of danger. I feel sorry for his experience of life in general.

[wardd]

i bet phill sit at his computer with a gun in case someone on line is threatening

[Ian McColgin]

Actually wardd, while I understand the snark, I don't think it even remotely plausable. Phillip is an enthusiast, not a fanatic looking to personally concealed carry anywhere.

[LeeG]

damn, the threat of people bearing tickets.

[elf]

If the only tool you have is a gun, everything looks like a threat.

[Ted Hoppe]

A letter to the editor:

I thank the Lord Jesus Christ they did not pull a weapon of some sort, but rather concluded it was in their best interest to leave us alone.

Walt Wawra, Kalamazoo, Mich.

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

Why was Walt worried? Jesus had his back. Perhaps it was the Lord himself stepped between these wayward Canadian men and this Jobian man & wife.

[Iceboy]

I'm willing to go out on a limb and say that most law abiding concealed carry people think that Wawra is an a$$hat. If he is that insecure in broad daylight Calgary he has no business being a policeman.

[LeeG]

If the only tool you have is a gun, everything looks like a threat.

when Gayle visited her biological father he offered his pistol for her to carry while she went jogging in the countryside of Alabama. But then he also carried his pistol into the hospital neonatal intensive care unit. He also left his pistol in his vest on the bed in the guestroom where there was a house full of kids under 5yrs old.

[S/V Laura Ellen]

hard to say... he assumes he, himself, is worth protecting but I suppose not mere civilians
also hard to say what the two fellas in the park meant... to make a conclusion about their intentions would be an invitation to bias since we weren't there

I have 'disarmed' would be assailantes in my lifetime and never had a gun with me... there's a sort of trick to it

Yup, I'm sure that in the same circumstances Phillip would have shot them?

Edited to add: My intention was to be ironic.

[PhaseLockedLoop]

If the only tool you have is a gun, everything looks like a threat.

But he didn't have a gun, which is the point of his stupid letter.

[Iceboy]

I really don't know why so many folks on this forum think this way about Phillip. Sure he is a firearms proponent and a vocal one at that but you never hear him say he would shoot someone. You also hear him say he does not carry concealed weapons and doesn't feel insecure without his firearms. He always comes down on the side of safety first and admits he doesn't see the purpose of assault rifles and handguns even though he believes in others right to posess the same. Attempting to paint him as a vigilante is dishonest and unfair.

Yup, I'm sure that in the same circumstances Phillip would have shot them.

[ljb5]

The only way this story could be better would be if Walt Wawra were from Walla Walla.

[Iceboy]

Funny!

The only way this story could be better would be if Walt Wawra were from Walla Walla.

[S/V Laura Ellen]

I really don't know why so many folks on this forum think this way about Phillip. Sure he is a firearms proponent and a vocal one at that but you never hear him say he would shoot someone. You also hear him say he does not carry concealed weapons and doesn't feel insecure without his firearms. He always comes down on the side of safety first and admits he doesn't see the purpose of assault rifles and handguns even though he believes in others right to posess the same. Attempting to paint him as a vigilante is dishonest and unfair.

I guess I should have put a smiley on that post. I've met Phillip, talked with him in a social setting and found him to be a nice fellow.
Do I thing Phillip would have shot them? Obviously (at least to me) the answer is no. It was meant to be an ironic statement, to demonstrate that even our most staunch gun supporter, differs from the subject of the post.

Phillip, sorry if you also took it the wrong way, I have much most respect for you that what some people have construed from my ineffectual attempt at humour.

Very similar to Phillip, I'm not against gun ownership and most gun control initiatives. Gun control doesn't for the most part get guns out of the hands of people that shouldn't have them. I think that we would be much further ahead, spending the money that is being thrown around on the gun issue and spending it on mental health support and education.