Toronto police officer hailed as hero for arresting suspect without firing shot

Authored by theguardian.com and submitted by Yamamba78
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A Canadian police officer is being hailed for the restraint and professionalism he showed in arresting the suspect in the Toronto van attack without firing a single shot.

'This lady died in front of me': Toronto shocked into silence after van fatalities Read more

On Monday afternoon, a white van ploughed into pedestrians along one of Toronto’s busiest streets, killing 10 people and injuring more than a dozen others in what one official described as “pure carnage.”

Soon after, the alleged driver of the van was arrested by a lone police officer in a confrontation lasting less than a minute and caught on video by bystanders.

“Get down,” the officer shouts repeatedly.

“Kill me,” the man tells the police officer. “I have a gun in my pocket.”

The officer’s voice remains calm as he again orders the man to get down, warning that he will shoot if the man does not cooperate. “Shoot me in the head,” the suspect replies.

The officer then begins advancing towards the suspect. The suspect steps backwards, dropping what he was holding and raising his hands in the air. The officer proceeded to single-handedly arrest the suspect.

The arrest came as police forces across North America – including in Toronto – have been criticised for using excessive force to subdue mentally ill or unarmed suspects.

Police identified Alek Minassian, a 25-year-old from the nearby town of Richmond Hill, as the man who had been arrested. He appeared in court on Tuesday, charged with 10 counts of first-degree murder and 13 counts of attempted murder.

Officials refused to comment on a motive, but said the suspect did not represent a threat to national security.

Video of the dramatic confrontation between the suspect and the police officer was hailed on social media, where praise poured in for the officer, identified as Ken Lam.

Many said he deserved a medal. A columnist for Maclean’s magazine contrasted the officer’s calm demeanor with the chaos and horror that had unfolded minutes earlier. “I am paid to explain things and sound confident doing so,” he wrote. “But I honestly don’t know what to make of this terrifying, remarkable moment.”

Mark Saunders, the city’s police chief, credited the force’s high calibre of training. “The officer did a fantastic job with respect to utilising his ability of understanding the circumstance and environment and having a peaceful resolution at the end of the day,” he said.

Mike McCormack, the president of the Toronto Police Association, said the officer – a constable who has been with the force for more than seven years – would have been justified if he had decided to fire at the suspect. “He was constantly assessing, constantly watching what was going on and determined he could handle it the way that he did,” he said. “People are right: this guy is a hero.”

He had spoken to the officer, who was left shaken. “It’s stressful enough when you’re confronting somebody who is trying to get you to kill them,” said McCormack. “And then you add the layer that this person that you’re dealing with has just murdered 10 innocent people, injured another 15. It really is sinking in with him right now.”

As commendations poured in from the around the world, the officer’s focus was on the many residents affected by the attack. “He was more concerned about the victims. He was devastated when we kept hearing the casualties going up, as we all were. It was a horrific scene,” said McCormack. “He said ‘Mike, I followed my experience and my training. Okay I made this arrest, which is great, but I’m just doing my job.’”

Goose360 on April 24th, 2018 at 19:20 UTC »

The officer, Ken Lam, is a genuinely good guy. He oversaw a mural I was painting for the city of Toronto and brought me and my other artist friends lunch every day for a week straight while we worked.

killerbake on April 24th, 2018 at 17:00 UTC »

Good. That guy was trying so hard to get shot. SO FUCKING HARD. And that guy kept his cool so this guy could be made a fucking example of.

edit: RIP my inbox.

Just want everyone to know that if you need to talk to anyone please reach out, it's never too late. You are loved and no matter what anyone else says, we do care.

If you are in America: https://www.mentalhealth.gov/get-help

If you are in Canada: https://cmha.ca/mental-health/finding-help

autotldr on April 24th, 2018 at 16:19 UTC »

This is the best tl;dr I could make, original reduced by 82%. (I'm a bot)

A Canadian police officer is being hailed for the restraint and professionalism he showed in arresting the suspect in the Toronto van attack without firing a single shot.

Video of the dramatic confrontation between the suspect and the police officer was hailed on social media, where the officer - who has yet to be identified - was praised.

Mike McCormack, the president of the Toronto Police Association, said the officer - who has been with the force for more than seven years - would have been justified if he had decided to fire at the suspect.

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