Man seeks apology from RCMP

Burnaby man wants apology from RCMP
By Dan Hilborn, Burnaby Now assistant editor
Published April 2, 2003

A Burnaby senior is demanding an apology from the RCMP after he was arrested at gunpoint, dragged out of his home in handcuffs and taken to hospital for a psychiatric evaluation earlier this month.
The incident was apparently triggered when the 83-year-old man's daughter, who lives in Kelowna, called 911 to complain that her father was suffering from depression and was threatening to commit suicide. She was particularly concerned because her father is an avid hunter, with firearms and ammunition inside his south Burnaby home.
Const. Phil Reid, spokesperson for the Burnaby RCMP, said an apology will be issued if it is warranted.
However, he noted police have to follow strict guidelines whenever they respond to incidents where an allegedly despondent person is known to possess a firearm.
"Our bottom line is not only the safety of our officers but also the safety of the person who may be in stress," Reid said.
While Reid confirmed that the RCMP's one-year-old 'active shooter response team' was sent to the home at 9 a.m. March 12, he was unable to speak to the specifics of the case.
However, he did say that the team follows strict procedures that are designed to prevent the person involved from posing a threat to themself or others.
"Any time there is the possibility of weapons inside a home and there may be harm to that person or another, we will certainly send those officers in," Reid said. "They are specially trained in the entry of homes where there are weapons.
"From what I understand, I'd say yeah, protocols were followed. Mention the word 'weapons,' and our people will respond to that. It's a changing sign of the times."
But the senior, who first moved to Burnaby 58 years ago after serving in the Second World War, said police completely overreacted to a non-threatening situation.
"If they need a SWAT team to take an 83-year-old man to hospital, then there's something wrong with this police force," said the man. "You'd think I had a marijuana grow operation or something here.
"It's stupid. I think it's a waste of police effort and police time. I could have gone to hospital in my own vehicle and it would have cost them nothing."
The man's firearms and ammunition, all of which are legally registered, were returned the next day after the man successfully completed his psychiatric evaluation.
"It's a boss, bloody deal," he said. "I think I should have an apology. The neighbours who saw this probably think I'm a criminal now."
When asked if police have contacted him since the incident, the senior said: "No. They're too god-damned ashamed to be in contact. They've got nothing to be in contact with me for."
But friends of the senior say the incident was possibly sparked by an ongoing dispute over the family home, which was transferred into co-ownership between father and daughter last year, after the senior's wife passed away.
"I think the RCMP should charge his daughter with mischief," said Fred Nichols, a longtime member of the Sapperton Fish and Game Club who lives in New Westminster and is a frequent hunting partner with the senior. "Her complaint tied up two RCMP officer for an entire day while they stood around Royal Columbian Hospital and the two doctors came out and said he's as sane as you or I."
Nichols believes police should have sent a plainclothes officer to knock on the door, to determine what kind of situation existed before calling out the heavily armed task force.
"To think they could treat a war veteran like this is terrible. He put his life on the line for four or five years, and this is how they treat him? Wow. I feel really bad about it."
But the daughter, contacted at home Monday morning, was unrepentant and said her father should stop threatening to hurt himself.
"My father threatened to kill himself on three occasion to me and one one occasion to my dad," said the daughter. "I have a girlfriend whose father in his 90s shot himself in his sister’s bedroom and a daughter-in-law's brother who is dead from shooting himself.
"You don't take it lightly when someone threatens to shoot themself, and I told him if he kept talking like that I'd phone the crisis line. The man is ill. He doesn't even remember his wife died last year," she said.
The daughter also dismissed claims that the incident had anything to do with ownership of the house.
"I am not trying to get ahold of the house," she said. "He wanted to put my name on the house when my mother died. I'm going to get a lawyer if you write one word of this. They don't know the hell I've gone through over this and how many nights of sleep I've lost over my dad."
When asked if she had concerns since her father passed the psychiatric evaluation and had his hunting rifles returned, the woman said: "He didn't pass. They only returned the weapons because I refused to put in a statement. I didn't want my dad to lose his right to hunt if he was okay."
Meanwhile, Reid said the RCMP response team was set up about a year ago to respond to any call that involves the use of weapons, including guns, knives or crossbows.
If the response team is found to have acted improperly, Reid said the RCMP will issue an apology. "It's not beneath us to apologize for any wrongdoing," he said. "We want to have a satisfied customer here."
"Her complaint tied up two RCMP officers for an entire day while they stood around Royal Columbian Hospital and the two doctors came out and said he's as sane as you or I."
Nichols believes police should have sent a plainclothes officer to knock on the door to determine what kind of situation existed before calling out the heavily armed task force.
"To think they could treat a war veteran like this is terrible. He put his life on the line for four or five years, and this is how they treat him? Wow. I feel really bad about it."
But the daughter, contacted at home Monday morning, was unrepentant and said her father should stop threatening to hurt himself.
"My father threatened to kill himself on three occasion to me," said the daughter. "I have a girlfriend whose father in his 90s shot himself in his sister's bedroom and a daughter-in-law's brother who is dead from shooting himself.
"You don't take it lightly when someone threatens to shoot themself, and I told him if he kept talking like that I'd phone the crisis line. The man is ill. He doesn't even remember his wife died last year," she said.
The daughter also dismissed claims that the incident had anything to do with ownership of the house.
"I am not trying to get a hold of the house," she said. "He wanted to put my name on the house when my mother died. I'm going to get a lawyer if you write one word of this. They don't know the hell I've gone through over this and how many nights of sleep I've lost over my dad."
When asked if she had concerns since her father passed the psychiatric evaluation and had his hunting rifles returned, the woman said: "He didn't pass. They only returned the weapons because I refused to put in a statement. I didn't want my dad to lose his right to hunt if he was OK."
Meanwhile, Reid said the RCMP response team was set up about a year ago to respond to any call that involves the use of weapons, including guns, knives or crossbows.
If the response team is found to have acted improperly, Reid said the RCMP will issue an apology. "It's not beneath us to apologize for any wrongdoing," he said. "We want to have a satisfied customer here."