And no, it is not a slight exaggeration, nor am I assuming- not for Canada at least.
In Canada, contrary to popular myth, their police, the RCMP (Royal Canadian Mounted Police) do carry weapons. However, their frequency of use would call into question whether the weapon would work when pulled due to cobwebs. They do not need to use it as often as we do in the United States.
One very early morning during the summer when I was in England, I recall watching from the front living room window as a group of rugby or footballers stumbled, and shambled down the street, making very loud noises, fighting between each other, knocking over trash cans, and otherwise being a nuisance. The police arrived in a van of sorts. Two police officer climbed out of their vehicle and approached the players who were at the very least twice their size each. The police officers broke them into groups, had them sit on the ground,and talked to them individually before putting 1 or 2 into the back of the vehicle - all without the use of a weapon or instruments of any sort. The footballers simply did what they were told - all 12-14 of them.
That would not happen here. Our police would call for back-up and would pull their weapopns if not at the least, place their hand on the weapon as a show. When in England a police officer does use a weapon or even in Canada, when they use a weapon, it is serious, and not an over reaction. Their police forces are usually very subdued, so an over reaction for them would be to act reasonably.
30 Oct 2009
National Post
BY KATHRYN BLAZE CARLSON
RCMP CAPTURE FUGITIVE
Windsor raid lands son of Imam slain by FBI
The fugitive son of an Imam shot dead by U.S. federal agents on Wednesday was arrested yesterday in downtown Windsor, while two other Canadians alleged to be part of the Imam’s extremist group are still at large.
Mujahid Carswell, 30, was arrested without incident by RCMP officers at about 1 p.m. yesterday after police blocked off a downtown street and surrounded a house with a tactical team.
Mr. Carswell, who faces U.S. charges of conspiracy to commit federal crimes based on his alleged membership in a radical Detroit-based fundamentalist Sunni group, was witnessed being whisked away in a prisoner transport van. He is in the custody of the Canada Border Services Agency on immigration violations.
Two other Windsor-based Canadians, Mohammad Palestine, 33, and Yassir Ali Khan, 30, have been charged with federal crimes but are not in custody.
According to a man named Hassan who worships at Windsor Mosque, Mr. Palestine and Mr. Ali Khan frequently attended daily prayers and services. “I recognized their pictures in news stories. I have seen both of them at the mosque here and there,” Mr. Hassan said. “They seemed like regular guys. The Muslim community here is shocked.”
Mr. Carswell is the eldest son of Luqman Ameen Abdullah, the Imam of Detroit’s Masjid Al-Haqq mosque and leader of the fundamentalist group. He was killed in an FBI raid on a warehouse in Dearborn, Mich. The raid, which led to the arrest of four suspects, was the culmination of a two-year undercover operation into the activities of a Muslim brotherhood called Ummah. The FBI says the group, which has cells across the United States, advocates violence to establish a separate Islamic state in America under the rulership of H. Rapp Brown, who was once a leader of the Black Panther Party and is now in prison for murder.
As detailed in a U.S. affidavit released on Wednesday, Mr. Carswell told an informant that he moved to Windsor and is living two blocks from the tunnel border crossing. “Carswell said he goes to a large [mosque] in Windsor and the people there are serious and organized,” the affidavit said. “Carswell said he trains approximately 60 children, ages 8 to 18, in martial arts at the mosque.”
When reached yesterday afternoon, the president of the Windsor Islamic Association, which runs the Windsor Mosque, said he was surprised by the allegations, but would not provide further comment.
Mr. Abdullah, the deceased leader, told an FBI informant that Mr. Palestine is “a soldier and a warrior” and stated that he and Mr. Palestine would do anything for each other, the complaint said. He has also allegedly provided financial support to Mr. Abdullah, according to the complaint.
The FBI said Mr. Abdullah was “advocating and encouraging his followers to commit violent acts against the United States,” and discussed bombing Washington and the 2006 Super Bowl in Detroit.
He also warned that “America must fall” and preached an “offensive jihad,” or holy war, according to the complaint.
Mr. Abdullah, also known as Christopher Thomas, and 10 others, including the two fugitives and Mr. Carswell, were named in the affidavit that alleges conspiracy to commit theft from interstate shipments, mail fraud to obtain the proceeds of arson, illegal possession and sale of firearms and tampering with motor vehicle identification numbers.
Once the investigation is complete, authorities will reportedly decide whether to seek a felony indictment on the charges.
terrorism
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