Ottawa Police Chief Steve Bell has responded to posts on social media and a request from a city councilor about an incident in Dundonald Park involving officers and a woman chi with a sword.
A Reddit post on Monday claimed that someone called police about the elderly woman in Centretown Park. The publication said that the police became aggressive with the woman, who could not speak English, but also that the agents finally managed to call someone who could translate before they apparently told the woman to leave.
The post received more than 1,200 comments and was widely shared on social media.
Somerset Coun. Catherine McKenney said they asked police for an explanation.
“What I’m reading is exceptionally disturbing and unjustified,” they said on Twitter.
I am very concerned about reports of an elderly woman being removed from Dundonald Park by the police to do tai chi. I asked for an explanation. What I am reading is exceptionally disturbing and unjustified.
– Catherine McKenney 🇺🇦 (them) (@cmckenney) May 30, 2022
Umair Muhammad witnessed the incident. He told Colton Praill of CTV News Ottawa that the woman is often in the park.
“I often come to this park in the morning with my son and there is often an old Chinese woman who comes and does tai chi in the yard area and sometimes has this ornamental sword that she uses as part of her practice.” he said.
The ornamental swords used for tai chi are sometimes retractable and usually blunt.
Muhammad said the woman had kept the sword in a bag when police arrived.
“They grabbed the bag and started telling him to sit down and follow his instructions or that he would arrest him if he didn’t. I went to the scene and started asking questions about why they were there and why did they treat her that way and she tried to tell them that look, she’s often here, she’s not causing any problems, she’s just doing her tai chi, “he said. “The policeman pulled out his arm and held it with his long arms, just saying, ‘Sit down, I’m on the edge, they’ll arrest you.'”
He described the incident as “absurd”.
“The police were too enthusiastic. Maybe this park has a reputation, there are reasons for them to be on guard when they are here, but there are also reasons to look at the situation soberly before entering with excessive zeal.” said Muhammad. “I don’t know why the language barrier problem was something the police caught unawares. We’re one or two blocks from Chinatown.”
POLICE RESPONSE
In a response Monday night, Bell said police were called around 9:50 a.m. Monday morning. The caller was concerned about the woman’s sword, which Bell described as “75 inches” (6 feet-3) long. Bell said the caller hung up before more information could be obtained.
“A patrol officer attended Somerset St. Park. West at 9:59 a.m. and located a woman inside the enclosed playground area. The officer was also addressed to her by concerned parents, “Bell wrote.
“The officer tried to talk to the woman, but there was a language barrier and the discussion between the officer and the woman was encouraged. The officer asked the woman to sit on a bench while they investigated.”
Bell wrote that police were finally able to contact an agent who spoke Cantonese and Mandarin to translate over the phone. He said the sword was a folding device, which was in fact used for tai chi.
“He (the sword) was returned to the woman. There were no arrests or charges and the elderly woman willingly left the park without incident. She was not ordered to leave,” Bell said. “The officer chose not to ask for the woman’s ID to prevent the situation from escalating further.”
Bell said the incident shows that police officers are sometimes called to situations with limited information and misunderstandings. He also said that social media can amplify these misunderstandings.
McKenney shared Bell’s note on his Twitter channel. The Ottawa Police Service also posted it in its entirety in a 14-tweet thread.
The following is a message from Acting Police Chief Steve Bell, which was issued last night to Councilor McKenney and the Police Services Board in response to concerns about a recent incident in Dundonald Park. (1/14) pic.twitter.com/zWXSGpZdQR
– Ottawa Police (@OttawaPolice) May 31, 2022
The interim chief has called for a full overhaul.
“I asked that the call be reviewed from the initial 911 call to the conclusion. It’s important for our community to see this information and consider the impacts of misunderstandings and barriers such as language. It’s a matter of which we can all learn, “he said.
NO DANGER OF THE TAI CHI SWORD, SAYS THE INSTRUCTOR
A tai chi instructor tells CTV News Ottawa that the ornamental swords used in tai chi are harmless.
“There are a lot of old weapons, but of course they’re not used as weapons. We use them as ornaments for swords. In my 23 years of practice, I’ve never seen anyone think of buying a sharp sword. for tai chi, “said Eduardo Molon. Chen Yingjun Tai Chi instructor Ottawa.
“We use them to encourage special qualities in our movement. If a teacher wants to correct a student’s movement he can prescribe a sword,” Molon explained. “If you hit yourself with a sword, your arm will break it, the folding one, if you hit it, it will retract. There is no danger for anyone.”
Yukang Li, the executive director of the Chinatown BIA, said it was a “very sad incident”.
“The fact that this incident happened, did someone call the police to report an elderly woman practicing tai chi in a park? This reflects the very sad truth of our society,” Li said. “This instance is likely to have a negative impact on members of the community who use public spaces, such as Dundonald Park, especially, as you know, people who are of minority background; they would hesitate before relocating.” .
He told her it was probably a case of ignorance of the practice of tai chi that caused the individual who called the police to complain.
“Why do we live in a multicultural society like Canada and we still don’t know a different culture? That’s the question I have.”