As I awoke yesterday in my sleepy suburb-like area on the outskirts of St. John’s, I happened to catch the local radio station’s broadcast of the Cole's Notes version of some scary happenings in a city on the mainland. The previous night in that city, there were no less than four incidents involving shots being fired. Thankfully, no one was killed, but some poor bullet ridden souls ended up in the hospital. None of these shootings involved the police. Considering that Canadian cops are pretty much the only ones allowed to carry handguns in public, then that makes these types of events even more disturbing.
American biker gangs like the Hells Angels, Jamaican Posse, Asian Organized Crime, Tamil Tigers, Native insurgents, home grown terrorists, and even Bob the plumber are all known to prey on our fellow citizens in just about every Canadian city. We believe that our own city has been spared this plight, thus far. At this point, you are likely assuming that the mainland city leading yesterday's news was Toronto, Vancouver, or Montreal. You wouldn't be surprised either if it were Winnipeg, Regina, or the cold, steely city of Hamilton, as all of those far away places certainly have more than their fair share of bad guys. If you were thinking any of those, then you would be wrong. The maniacal and menacing mainland city is much closer to our shores than any of those. In many ways, this city is our sister city or maybe our big brother. The city, where Kevlar vests are this spring’s hot fashion item, is Halifax, Nova Scotia.
You should not be surprised. Prosperity, population growth, and the ease of worldwide travel no longer permit any municipality to think and act as if it were the walled city of Troy. Those willing to pillage and plunder will find there way in. Halifax is a modern 21st century city. So is our beloved St. John's, NL! The handgun is the symbol of a city's graduation into the ranks of the modern world. St. John's has already earned its degree.
Before retiring from the RCMP last year, I spent the previous six years working in the St. John's area, primarily as a drug investigator. Prior to that, I worked in the Greater Toronto Area for fourteen years. Again, much of that time was spent pursuing drug traffickers and importers. In relative terms, I can attest that the illegal drug scene in St. John's is as pervasive and violent as it is in Toronto. Surprisingly, I also encountered more handguns being wielded by the bad guys here in St. John's than I did in Toronto. In Toronto, all drug traffickers were presumed armed and dangerous until the police knew otherwise. We routinely utilized our "SWAT" teams to affect arrests and to break down doors to enter residences. They have the expertise, so why put myself in the firing line unnecessarily? Also, bad guys hardly ever try to resist when the police ninjas come calling. That being said, bad guys don't fear the cops as much as they do other bad guys. There is no honour among thieves of cocaine dealers, so they often arm themselves to fend off rivals who often try to steal their dope and dollars. I strongly suspect that some, if not all, of the four Halifax shootings fall in that category.
Police officers in Newfoundland have seen the escalation of violent crimes and the proliferation of handguns being seized. I think that the public and the courts are a little behind in their understanding of the reality of the situation. A couple of years ago, while seeking a warrant to search a house where a large amount of marihuana was believed to be stashed, a Judge signed my warrant but suggested that we "go in easy". By that I guess he meant to ring the doorbell and to wait patiently to be let in. Or perhaps he was suggesting that I call ahead! I was experienced enough to know that I would enter that residence in accordance with the law, but with everyone's safety as the first priority. "Going in easy" was never in my play book.
There was another incident, involving a suspected gun carrying drug dealer, that lead to me being grilled on the stand in court. We were acting on information that three people were driving from the mainland to St. John's with drugs in their vehicle. It was also believed that one of the young guys had a handgun in his possession. The car needed to be stopped before it got into St. John's, as following it to its final destination involved possibly losing it in traffic. We considered using our "SWAT", but I believed there was a better way to stop the vehicle, seize the drugs, as well to ensure that the handgun would not be used on that day or ever again.
We had learned that the vehicle had experienced a flat on its journey and was now traveling with a dummy spare as one of its rear tires. I dressed up in my police uniform and borrowed a real police car from one of the neighbouring detachments. Just outside the city limits, I pulled the car over, ran up to the driver's window and excitedly told the occupants that their dummy tire was on fire and that they needed to exit the vehicle immediately. No one likes the idea of becoming human charcoal, so they all quickly got out. Getting them out with that ruse was the key to ensuring that no one would be shot. The bad guy knew we were the police, he did not know that we suspected he had the drugs, and he was now out of the vehicle in plain view of my partner and me. This allowed us to physically see what he had in his hands and what he was doing with those hands. The hands are usually the delivery system of all things good and bad. It worked out perfectly, Jake Doyle would have been proud of that one.
When we eventually had our day in court, the defence attorney and Judge questioned the grounds we had used to take action on that day and also questioned me on the tactic we employed to stop the vehicle. As is typical, the procedures the police utilize are what is on trial and never the accused. At the end of the day, it did finally work out in our favour and the bad guy went to jail. I wonder what the reaction of the lawyers would have been if I had chosen to shoot out the tires of that vehicle? It's too bad I retired, because maybe "down east" has a chance of becoming more like the "old west".
St. John's is not the city of my childhood. It is inevitable that someday a local police officer will be harmed in the execution of his or her duties. Those in uniform understand that risk. They don't need to be second guessed at every turn in the name of political correctness. It's time those in positions of trust and power recognized these facts. I think that many politicians, Judges, and lawyers have there heads buried in the sand. It’s almost as if they think they are living in St. John’s circa 1975. In those days, the cops were kept busy chasing after the likes of Bart Connors and Johnny “Gluebag”. Today’s criminal is more worldly and streetwise, with many derailed and misguided by the influence of drugs. To many criminals, the handgun is a necessary tool of the trade. We don’t need to arm them further by having leaders who believe bell bottoms and big hair are still in style. It’s 2011 and there’s no turning back the clock. We still live on an island, but the mainland is so much closer than it ever was. Just ask anyone living in Halifax.
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