• Home
  • About
    • About Christopher di Armani
    • Disclosure Statement
    • Code of Ethics
    • Privacy Policy
  • Contact
  • Gun Laws 101
  • FPO Violators
  • Store
  • Donate
  • Hire Me

Christopher di Armani.com

In Praise of Individual Rights and Freedoms

  • Top 25
  • Big Brother
    • Access To Information
    • Bureaucratic Incompetence
    • Bureaucrat’s Rule #1
    • Censorship
    • Feeding at the Government Trough
    • Lemonade Freedom
  • Common Sense
    • Expressions of Gratitude
    • Good Samaritans
    • Good Stuff
    • In Memoriam — Remembering our Heros
    • Life
    • Personal Responsibility
    • Politically Correct Madness
  • Courts
    • Abusive Prosecutions
    • Civil Forfeiture
    • Human Rights Tribunals
    • Judicial Corruption
    • Justice Denied
    • Justice System Abuses
    • Police Sentencing Double-Standards
    • Prosecutorial Misconduct
    • SLAPP Lawsuits
  • Crime
    • Abuse of Trust
    • Canadian Mass Murders
    • Firearm Prohibition Orders
    • Human Depravity
    • Immigration Issues
    • Racism
    • Restraining Orders
    • Sexual Predators
    • Violent Criminals
    • Wrongful Convictions
  • Guns
    • Concealed Carry
    • Dial 9-1-1 and Die
    • Firearms Act
    • Fun Gun Stuff
    • Gun Control
    • Gun-Free Zones
    • Gun Politics
    • Gun Registration
    • Negligent Discharges
    • Target Shooting Competitions
  • Islam
    • Canadian Islamic Disgraces
    • Islamic Terrorism
    • Radical Islam
    • Sharia Law
    • The Religion Of Peace
  • Police
    • Abuse of Police Authority
    • Filming Police
    • Great Police Officers
    • Officer Down
    • Police Brutality
    • Police Corruption
    • Police Misconduct
    • RCMP Accountability
    • RCMP Hall of Shame
    • Warrantless Searches
  • Politics
    • Elections
    • Ethics in Politics
    • Political Antics
    • Political Corruption
    • Social Justice
    • Stupid Human Tricks
    • Union Bay Improvement District
  • Rights
    • Charter of Rights and Freedoms
    • Constitutional Violations
    • Freedom of Assembly
    • Freedom of Religion
    • Freedom of Speech
    • Property Rights
    • Privacy Rights
    • Self-Defense
    • Unreasonable Search and Seizure

Nanaimo RCMP’s Takedown of a Naïve 22-year-old and His Replica Handgun is an Object Lesson for us All

Published August 3, 2021 by Christopher di Armani Filed Under: Common Sense, Guns


On July 30th, Nanaimo RCMP responded in force to a ‘man with a gun’ call when they discovered the young man’s gun wasn’t real, but a CO2 replica Remington 1875 revolver.

While ownership of this toy gun is 100% legal, behaving stupidly with them in public can often lead to criminal charges.

That won’t be the case this time, says Nanaimo RCMP spokesman Const. Gary O’Brien, but he says it’s detachment policy to destroy all seized replica firearms.

The young man was thrilled with his new purchase and simply couldn’t wait to load a CO2 cartridge into the handle of the gun. His actions prompted someone nearby to call 911 and report “they could see a man loading bullets into a large handgun”.

While being on the receiving end of that force may be deeply unpleasant and may seem like an unjustified over-reaction be police, it’s not.

The RCMP’s response to this call was entirely predictable and entirely understandable.

The only information they have is a 911 call about a man loading a gun in the parking lot of a shopping mall.

They would be derelict in their duties if they did not respond en masse to prevent or stop a mass shooting.

Even before the terrible and tragic events of the past year, Nova Scotia’s mass murder being at the forefront, police generally meet such a perceived threat with a show of force.

Commenting on the Comox Valley Record’s version of this story, Rich Bridgeman said:

“Apparently Nanaimo has a real problem with people crying wolf. Three cases where the public called the police over airsoft, and pellet guns? Perhaps the police should start charging the public for wrongful accusations.”

We firearm owners tend to over-simplify things, as Rich does above.

It’s not a matter of ‘crying wolf’ but one of not knowing what’s going on beyond “that’s a gun!” and calling the police.

We forget that the majority of Canadians have absolutely no experience with firearms beyond what they see on television and movies and are highly, if irrationally, terrified of them.

I would like to think anyone seeing a young man playing with what appears to be a real gun in a parking lot of a mall would take similar steps, if only because of how dire the consequences are if they’re wrong.

If the gun is real and the guy holding it is another moron with a grudge against the world, we’re in the midst of another Nova Scotia nightmare when we could have stopped it before it began.

Thanks, but no thanks.

I choose erring on the side of caution, as did the individual who called 911 as well as the RCMP members who responded to the call, over that possibility.

The RCMP noted they “will always respond to gun calls as if they are real, and they will consider the gun to be authentic until such time it has been proven to be a replica or toy,” according to the Nanaimo News Bulletin.

As they should.

Others took exception to this young man’s lawfully owned property being seized and destroyed.

For example, Dean Larsen wrote:

“So if no laws were broken and it turns out it was not a real firearm why was his property not returned to him. Is it police policy to seize and destroy citizens lawful property?”

Yes, in cases like this, it is.

No, I don’t agree with the policy.

Blair Parker’s opposition was even more strident.

“Give it back to him FFS….. HE DID NOTHING WRONG….”

While I disagree with Nanaimo RCMP’s policy in this case, this young man’s dumb actions caused police to waste an inordinate amount of resources to deal with him and his CO2 replica.

If seizing and destroying this replica teaches this young man to be more careful with his toy guns in future, it’s a cheap, albeit embarrassing, object lesson to him.

It’s an even more important object lesson to others.

To those who argue ‘he did nothing wrong’ I ask, “How are police supposed to know that until they investigate?”

Nanaimo News Bulletin commenter Rick Hancock asked,

“Next time this happens and you are criticizing the results why don’t you go up and ask the guy with the gun if it is real because if it is then you will have to call the police?”

I’m an experienced firearms owner, shooting sports competitor and firearms safety instructor, both on movie sets and off, and there is no way I would walk up to a stranger to check and see if the thing they’re flashing in public is a real gun.

If I’m right and it is fake, no harm no foul but, if I’m wrong, I just placed myself directly in the line of fire.

That’s light years beyond moronic.

If, from a relatively safe distance, I don’t know if that gun is real, I’ll happily dial 911 and let the professionals sort it out.

I’ll leave the final words to Nanaimo News Bulletin commenter Jenny Whats, whose comments likely reflect the majority of the non-firearm-owning public:

Think about that seriously? No one in right mind is going over to ask if that gun is real.

Again if you have no idea how to conduct yourself appropriately for the public, then your going to have police called.

We live in a very unpredictable world and protocol is important even with toy guns. Why would you not want to teach how to store and handle even a toy gun?

It’s good training to follow safety procedures and with all drive by and random attacks; us normal people are going to phone police to handle it just in case that gun is real. It is what the RCMP suggest to do, rather than putting yourself at possible risk.

Author

  • Christopher di Armani
    Christopher di Armani

    Christopher di Armani is a freedom-loving Amazon bestselling author and current events commentator from Lytton, BC, Canada, who strives to awaken the passion for liberty inside every human being.

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

Tags: CO2 replica Remington 1875 revolver, Const. Gary O’Brien, crying wolf, Nanaimo RCMP

Did you find value in this article?

If you found this article useful or it contained valuable information and you want to thank me, the best way is to buy me a coffee or two.

1. Send an Interac eTransfer to author @ christopherdiarmani.net (remove spaces)

2. Send via PayPal using this link: https://www.paypal.me/ThatLibertyGuy

3. Use your credit card in my online store to support me with a one-time donation, a monthly recurring donation, or an annual donation. See these links for all the details about the thank-you gifts I offer my supporters.

Comments

  1. Don Klein, Sec, Valley Rifle Club says

    August 3, 2021 at 8:43 am

    Sadly, the days when almost all homes had firearms and all children were taught firearms safety are long gone because of the deliberate demonization by dishonest politicians and media, of a perfectly useful and enjoyable sporting tool Just as children were taught not to touch a hot stove, they were taught to respect firearms since almost all back then were loaded and youngsters often carried their firearms to school without fear or adverse incident. Therefore, due to the culture of fear fostered today, you are absolutely correct. We do not like it, but times have changed and are not likely to change for the better any time soon. See:
    https://canadafreepress.com/article/the-real-abomination-of-the-liberals-c-68-firearms-act
    Not a single thing exposed in this article has changed.

    Reply
  2. Lynn Cournoyer says

    August 3, 2021 at 8:55 am

    I can’t place blame on the RCMP. or the individual who called them. for their reaction to a potentially dangerous situation. The young man in question is 22 years old, with all the negative information about firearms owners I would think he should have known better. What he was doing was not against the law, but, the public cannot tell the difference between real and replica firearm He should have taken it home before he started handling it To Dean, yes it is police policy to destroy said firearms. It is also the Liberal governments mandate to seize all legally owned firearms and not bother to go after the real problem, CRIMINALS. The young man in question can still purchase another replica, but hopefully he won’t make the same mistake. Hard way to learn.

    Lynn

    Reply
  3. Douglas R. says

    August 3, 2021 at 10:28 am

    I support the police reaction to the call-out, however a police policy that destroys seized personal property when no laws are broken is wrong. I don’t care if you are trying to drive home a point or not.
    He was in a vehicle at the time – if the police decided to seize that too during the incident – would their policy include destroying that too? And what if they decided that it should be their police policy to seize and destroy that vehicle – would that be right?
    A replica firearm is a legal piece of property – just like a vehicle – and any police policy should not break break our personal property laws to enforce arbitrary policy – no matter how moronic the legal and law-abiding owner acts. Destroying or selling seized property policy should only be applicable if the property was the proceeds of a crime.

    Reply
  4. Milt says

    August 3, 2021 at 10:55 am

    Identical scenario happened to me. I am an accredited CFSC instructor and an approved RCMP volunteer verifier , when they had us, and I saw a female playing with a chrome looking 1911 a1 in her car, parked very close to the front doors of a Credit Union. I slowly backed off and called the RCMP who had the very same response, flood the area and apprehend. Fortunately the fire arm turned out to be a .177 pellet gun made to look like a chrome 1911 that was not taken and the couple were left off with a warning.
    This is just after Allen Rock started his attack on firearms owners and the female should have been charged with the possible 10 year sentence they were touting to show the immediate powers of the newest law.
    I wondered about the lack of consequences at the time because the firearm had fooled me completely from a reasonably close range. I had to pass the front of the vehicle within 6-8 feet when I noticed the lady waving the “firearm” in the air inside her car.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Subscribe to my commentaries

Check your inbox or spam folder to confirm your subscription.

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Pinterest
  • RSS
  • Twitter

Latest Tweets

Follow @ThatLibertyGuy

Christopher di Armani 🇨🇦 🇺🇸
@ThatLibertyGuy

  • New comment: Canadian Gun Laws: A Primer for People Who Don’t Know Much About Gun Laws christopherdiarmani.com/15213/guns/can…
    about 1 week ago
    Reply Retweet Favorite
  • New comment: Blake Harvey’s Murder Proves We Don’t Value Children’s Lives christopherdiarmani.com/17398/police/g…
    about 1 week ago
    Reply Retweet Favorite
  • New comment: All that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing christopherdiarmani.com/8275/human-rig…
    about 1 week ago
    Reply Retweet Favorite
  • New comment: Paul Rogan Passes: The End of an Era christopherdiarmani.com/18908/common-s…
    about 1 week ago
    Reply Retweet Favorite
  • New comment: RCMP Sergeant Douglas Smith appeals conditional discharge for illegal handgun christopherdiarmani.com/2439/police/ab…
    about 1 week ago
    Reply Retweet Favorite

Most Popular This Week

  • All that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing
  • Dale Merle Nelson’s 1970 Murder Spree in Creston, British Columbia
  • How did Live-Streaming Rape Become a ‘Thing’?
  • Florida Police arrest a 12-year-old for farting. Have they lost their minds?
  • Yvon Mercier: From RCMP Depot Trainer to Double-Murderer
  • Why the Flood of Firearm Registration Certificates in My Mailbox?
  • Violent N.B. Drug Dealer Nicholas Bain Finally Arrested

Most Popular This Month

  • All that is required for evil to triumph is for good men to do nothing
  • Dale Merle Nelson’s 1970 Murder Spree in Creston, British Columbia
  • RCMP Sergeant Douglas Smith appeals conditional discharge for illegal handgun
  • How did Live-Streaming Rape Become a ‘Thing’?
  • Yvon Mercier: From RCMP Depot Trainer to Double-Murderer
  • Florida Police arrest a 12-year-old for farting. Have they lost their minds?
  • Derek Anthony Wood and the Sydney River McDonald’s Murders

© 2004–2023 ChristopherDiArmani.com | All Rights Reserved

Close

Buy me a cup of coffee

A ridiculous amount of coffee was consumed in the process of writing these articles. If you enjoy my work, please buy me a coffee or two to keep me going!