‘IN HARMS WAY’

Heads in the sand over 2 U.S. consulate shootings

Toronto doesn’t seem to want to acknowledge two recent international terror attacks.

It really has become nasty in Toronto and the GTA!

How many close calls and wake-up calls are needed before somebody starts admitting this?

On the same day when it could have been necessary to plan two more cop funerals comes information that, for the second time, there have been arrests connected to international terror groups who allegedly hired people to shoot up the U.S. consulate.

“It’s out of control,” said Toronto Police Association President Clayton Campbell.

It really is. You will have to forgive Campbell and Police Chief Myron Demkiw for having any patience for efforts to downplay it. They live with the fact that the men and women they lead and represent are in harm’s way every day. They have already buried one officer. Had one forced to defend himself overnight. One officer was hit by a car, and the Special Investigations Unit, the province’s police watchdog, reports two guns were found next to it. Another close call was July 27 when two officers were at risk sitting in a car at the University Ave. consulate when it was shot at.

These are treacherous times in general and especially for police officers.

“Our members often find themselves in dangerous and unpredictable situations,” said Campbell. “Police officers regularly place themselves in harm’s way to keep Toronto communities safe and ensure those who commit crimes are held accountable for their actions.”

Sometimes cops get shot, and sometimes they shoot.

Sadly, sometimes they can get shot. Although very rare, sometimes they have to shoot to protect themselves and the community.

“No police officer ever wants to use their firearm and will only do so when their life, the lives of their colleagues, or the public are at risk,” said Campbell, adding the overnight shooting incident in Mississauga involved the recovery of two illegal firearms.

Who knows what could have occurred with those guns?

But what is known is these terror attacks on our American and Jewish friends and neighbours – few political leaders seem to want to acknowledge – resulted in the shooting murder of a Toronto cop this summer. While some may try to gloss over the reality of Toronto today, there is no honest way to do it. A firearms investigation that resulted in the driver of a vehicle with guns on board being shot to death by a Toronto Police officer in Mississauga was a stark reminder of how dangerous things are now.

This happened just hours before Demkiw was to announce arrests in the July 27 terror attack on the U.S. consulate. This was just weeks removed from burying Const. Marc Pinizzotto, who was gunned down while trying to make a gun seizure related to earlier terror attacks.

U.S. President Donald Trump may be wrong when he says Canadian leaders are “nasty,” but you can hardly blame the American commander-in-chief for believing Canada is not taking seriously enough the terrorism aimed at his country coming from here! Two international terror attacks on the U.S. Consulate funded by foreign anti-American networks, dozens of targeted antisemitic attacks, and a slain Toronto cop is nasty!

And so there have been no terrorism charges laid or fire and brimstone directed at the countries where people are soliciting terror-for-hire freelance work from. What does Canada’s prime minister have to say about it? Nothing, so far. In fact, on his Twitter last Thursday, he said things could not be going better.