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Gun-loving U.S. cop draws Twitter jeers after 'aggressive' encounter with Canadians. lol

nuckin_futz

By nuckin_futz
in Off-Topic General

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Sharpshooter Canucks Hall-of-Famer

Sharpshooter

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How about this for irony...

Apparently a number of people have commented, posted and tweeted that they had similar encounters in Nose Hill Park on the day in question and were asked if they had been to the Stampede as well by these two gentleman. When some people answered in the negative the two gentleman aggressively offered them free tickets to the Stampede courtesy of a Calgary Oil company that they were representing.

Subsequent to the online furor, Calgary Cultural Ambassador Jenn Lutz said in a tweet that the two “very aggressive” men Mr. Wawra encountered were in fact giving out free Stampede passes. http://news.national.../09/walt-wawra/

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Sharpshooter Canucks Hall-of-Famer

Sharpshooter

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American police officer, who visited Calgary during Stampede, plans to write second letter to editor on handgun issue

Wawra, who lives in Kalamazoo, plans to write a second letter to clarify the incident.

“I like truth — I don’t like conjecture,” he said.

“If I bear some kind of responsibility for any kind of misinformation or misunderstanding, that is something I would like to clear up.”

Wawra’s letter has sparked interest south of the border, with the popular U.S. website Gawker reporting on the matter.

There were even rumours the two men in question worked for the Stampede and were giving out free passes to the park.

Not true, said Stampede spokesman Doug Fraser.

“The fact of the matter is we have a much bigger publicity and marketing machine than two people wandering through a park,” he said.

But the incident continues to keep people talking, both inside the Twitterverse and beyond.

A Calgary restaurant’s cheeky chalkboard went viral Wednesday after it poked fun at Wawra with the message: “Have you been to the Stampede yet? Just kidding. Don’t shoot me.”

http://www.calgaryhe...7730/story.html

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Navyblue Abbotsford Star

Navyblue

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How about this for irony...

Apparently a number of people have commented, posted and tweeted that they had similar encounters in Nose Hill Park on the day in question and were asked if they had been to the Stampede as well by these two gentleman. When some people answered in the negative the two gentleman aggressively offered them free tickets to the Stampede courtesy of a Calgary Oil company that they were representing.

Subsequent to the online furor, Calgary Cultural Ambassador Jenn Lutz said in a tweet that the two “very aggressive” men Mr. Wawra encountered were in fact giving out free Stampede passes. http://news.national.../09/walt-wawra/

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Kamero89 Abbotsford Star

Kamero89

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From everything I can glean this guy wrote the letter hoping for a response which he could use to support his political agenda and gain some media attention.

Election years in the US sure are a whole lot of derp. Entertaining as all get out, mind you, but complete derpitude.

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Wetcoaster Canucks First-Line

Wetcoaster

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A little background on the war zone that is Nose Hill Park - there’s no particular problem with public safety at Nose Hill Park and it is quite safe.

Walt. Boomer78 posted:

“If obsessing over crime stats is your thing then check out Calgary Police Services crime stats website for Nose Hill. There were two incidences in the past SIX months, one for theft and the other for vandalism. There is a big difference from being aware and being paranoid to the extreme. As a regular walker on Nose Hill I resented the fear mongering in Mr. Wawra’s letter and to quote Franklin D. Roosevelt, ‘There is nothing to fear but fear itself.’ ”

OTOH maybe Officer Walt's paranoia is a result of his environment. You can take Officer Walt out of Kalamazoo but you cannot take Kalamazoo out of Officer Walt?

Kalamazoo crime stats put it in the 6% of least safe cities in the US of A.

Kalamazoo population is 74,262 compared to Calgary's 1,138,393 a population difference factor of 15.3.

There were 15 murders in Calgary in 2010 while in Kalamazoo there were 9 - factoring in the population differential and Kalamzoo would have had 138 murders. YIKES.

Violent Crime Comparison per 1,000 residents - Kalamazoo 9.75, Michigan 4.30 and the US national median 4.0.

CHANCES OF BECOMING A VICTIM - in Kalamazoo it is 1 in 102 and in Michigan it is 1 in 203.

http://www.neighborhoodscout.com/mi/kalamazoo/crime/

By way of comparison - Calgary in 2011 ranked 37th in violent crime severity in the Maclean's Most Dangerous Cities survey. http://www2.macleans.ca/crime-chart/

Calgary writer and blogger Chris Turner (who came up with the hashtag #NoseHillGentlemen) said in a Global TV interview:

“It seemed like a parody of an out-of-proportion reaction to a very mundane situation in a very peaceful park. Among other things, in a very kind of amusing way, it illustrates the fact that, you know, very rigorous gun control laws are not a bad thing for society.”

Don Lesko wrote:

“For the people who support the carrying of handguns in Canada, if you don’t like our laws move to the U.S. Then you too may become one of the 30,000 killed every year by guns in the U.S.”

A. Rooney offered the following advice:

“Dear Officer Wawra: Please don’t visit Canada again. We don’t need or want people like you here. Your nation has accomplished many great things, yet has failed miserably around the globe to find support or to forge friendships. Why is that, officer? Maybe the answer lies in a little self-examination—personally, and as a nation. America was born out of violence. And throughout its history, the U.S. has been quick to wield its power, if not its weapons, to achieve ‘American interests.’ Using violence to resolve conflicts only generates fear. In Canada, officer Wawra, we don’t carry guns, and we don’t live in constant fear of strangers. We’ve moved beyond that, and we’re proud of this distinct difference between our two cultures. Next time, officer, please consider somewhere else for your vacation. We’ll all rest a little easier.”

Sounds like a good idea Walt... next time consider maybe Afghanistan. I hear the Helmand or Paktika provinces are nice. Lots of US military about with whom you can swap war stories. And lots of guns around so you can fell really safe and secure.

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