From the "running with scissors" file, CBC discovers that comic book conventions have cosplayers in costumes.
This time, the gun call didn't end badly. But, then there was this other call:
Emphasis mine. Now, what we have here is a full rollout with rifles on a guy wearing an obvious costume, down the street from the comic convention. Why? Standard Operating Procedure.
That's right nerds. You'd best not show up on the street, 'less you wanna feel the heat. They arrested this guy, took his stuff, and took him away. Why? Standard Operating Procedure. Two seconds of looking told them everything was legit. They busted this kid for wearing a costume.
Fan Expo got underway at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre Thursday, and with it came an array of excited, costumed fans.
One of those fans apparently startled some GO transit passengers this morning: Toronto police got a call at about 10 a.m. with reports of a person with a gun. It turned out to be part of someone's outfit.
"As with any type of call like this we treat it as a real threat, and then we work our way back down to ensure that there's no threat," Const. Victor Kwong told CBC News.
This time, the gun call didn't end badly. But, then there was this other call:
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| Call the cops, Martha! Its a ALIEN! |
It was almost game over in Grande Prairie this week for a cosplay enthusiast.
Dressed as a character from Fallout, a popular post-apocalyptic video game series, the man walked down a street wearing a gas mask, helmet, armour and bullet belt.
RCMP Cpl. Shawn Graham told CBC News that police received calls just before 5 p.m. Tuesday from citizens concerned the man was wearing what looked like a bomb on his back.
At least eight officers responded with their long guns drawn. Photos show them crouched behind vehicles and bushes.
Emphasis mine. Now, what we have here is a full rollout with rifles on a guy wearing an obvious costume, down the street from the comic convention. Why? Standard Operating Procedure.
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| SOP response to kid in costume. GUN HIM!!! |
"We have to believe everything is real until proven otherwise," said Graham. "In the end you've got a good feeling after going, 'OK, there wasn't a bomb, there was no intent to do anything criminal, it's just someone with their costume."
Graham thinks it should serve as a warning to others who enjoy cosplay that police will assume fake weapons are real.
"There's a time and a place for it," he said, pointing out that costumes are OK at conventions and similar events.
"Wandering around downtown [is] maybe not the place to do it."
That's right nerds. You'd best not show up on the street, 'less you wanna feel the heat. They arrested this guy, took his stuff, and took him away. Why? Standard Operating Procedure. Two seconds of looking told them everything was legit. They busted this kid for wearing a costume.
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| Cops stealing obvious costume before transporting dangerous nerd. |
I'm surprised they didn't beat the shit out of him and drag him around a bit, like United Airlines.
My single question: how long before they shoot somebody for cosplay in public?
The Phantom
This is not a new scenario. When I was living in Yellowknife, there was a call to the RCMP about a bank robbery. It was a group that was filming a small part and they approached the bank about this . After some talk it was approved and away it went. They thought each other called the police, so when the call came in the police called the bank and asked to speak to the manager and was told he was busy.That, to them,meant the call was real. No one was killed, but there was all sorts of shit that got implemented from there on. This happened in 1980 of 81.
ReplyDeleteThis is not a new scenario. When I was living in Yellowknife, there was a call to the RCMP about a bank robbery. It was a group that was filming a small part and they approached the bank about this . After some talk it was approved and away it went. They thought each other called the police, so when the call came in the police called the bank and asked to speak to the manager and was told he was busy.That, to them,meant the call was real. No one was killed, but there was all sorts of shit that got implemented from there on. This happened in 1980 of 81.
ReplyDelete