Anger spreads over homeowner charged with assault after fighting alleged intruder; Canadian cops double down: 'Don't engage'
As Blaze News recently reported, a Canadian homeowner has been charged with aggravated assault after fighting and injuring an armed male who allegedly broke into his Lindsay, Ontario, residence in the middle of the night last month.
Amid the growing outrage — including from Ontario Premier Doug Ford, who said "something is broken" in the system when one is punished for self-defense — the chief of the Kawartha Lakes Police Service fired off a scolding message to the public on Facebook, calling the criticism against cops "unjust and inaccurate."
'But as it stands, we know the best defense for most people is to comply.'
Chief Kirk Robertson added that the "law requires that any defensive action be proportionate to the threat faced. This means that while homeowners do have the right to protect themselves and their property, the use of force must be reasonable given the circumstances."
Well, things are only getting more bizarre as the issue grows hotter up north.
Turns out the break-in suspect was armed with a crossbow while the homeowner was armed with a knife, the Toronto Star reported, citing court documents.
The break-in suspect — 41-year-old Michael Breen — is no stranger to law enforcement, either. The Star said in addition to the list of charges against him in connection with the Lindsay incident, recent court records show other outstanding charges against Breen, including illegal use of a credit card. The paper added that Breen also allegedly failed to appear in court, after which a warrant for his arrest was issued June 19.
Meanwhile, those who know the homeowner — Jeremy McDonald — told the Star he's "distraught about" the charges against him.
Jesse Kalabic — who operates Thirteen Tattoo shop in the unit directly below McDonald’s second-floor apartment — added to the paper that McDonald is "concerned" and that "it’s become a very big issue now, and he doesn’t want to be in the spotlight.”
What's more, Kalabic revealed to the Star an additional traumatic element for McDonald, saying the break-in suspect "went through his [young] daughter’s bedroom window. Luckily, she wasn’t there.”
Kalabic added to the paper it’s unfortunate that McDonald — who works in construction — is facing charges when he didn't start the altercation. Kalabic also told the Star he hopes the government will investigate legal reforms concerning the level of force one can use in self-defense that “doesn’t leave the burden on the homeowner, who should always be seen as the victim.”
A pair of Canadian writers for Blaze News — Joe MacKinnon and Andrew Chapados — couldn't agree more.
"The fact that this homeowner was charged for non-lethally confronting an intruder not only is an indictment of the Canadian legal system but also serves notice to would-be criminals: Your victims are powerless under the law to take action against you. If a thug breaks into your home through your daughter's window, you should be criminally charged for not putting him six feet under the ground," MacKinnon told Blaze News.
Chapados added to Blaze News that "while sentiments from the premier are nice, federal laws need to change. In the meantime, Doug Ford needs to pressure the attorney general and Crown not to pursue charges against the homeowner."
As concern and anger over the issue spread throughout Canada, another recent headline out of Ontario has only underscored the public's frustration with police.
Amid a pair of violent home invasions — one that claimed a homeowner's life — the chief of the York Regional Police actually told homeowners that if their residences are invaded, “don’t engage unless absolutely necessary," the Star reported in a separate story.
“In the unlikely event that you find yourself the victim of a home invasion, we are urging citizens not to take matters into their own hands,” Chief Jim MacSween said. “While we don’t want homeowners to feel powerless, we urge you to call 911 and do everything you can to keep yourself and loves ones safe until police arrive and be the best witness possible. This could mean locking yourself in a room away from the perpetrators, hiding, fleeing the home, but don’t engage unless absolutely necessary.”
The Star said MacSween sidestepped questions about politicians such as Ford who called for stronger self-defense laws in the wake of the Lindsay incident.
“The premier can make his own statement and his own mind up about that,” MacSween noted, according to the paper. “What I would say is as a police service, we’ll follow the laws as they’re written; if the laws change, we’ll change with the laws.”
The Star said the chief soon added: “But as it stands, we know the best defense for most people is to comply.”
As you might guess, commenters ripped MacSween just like they blasted the Kawartha Lakes Police Service after the Lindsay break-in:
- "You just gave criminals a free pass," one commenter said.
- "Instead of telling homeowners to 'comply,' why don't you tell criminals that they will be tossed into prison [with] no chance of bail or parole and the key thrown away??????" another commenter wondered.
- "This clown is ridiculous. When seconds count, the cops are minutes away," another commenter stated. "When a criminal enters my dwelling, my home, my family's safe place, he/she/it forfeits his/her/zems life. The criminals can comply with the law and not enter my home."
- "Fire this coward immediately," another commenter declared.
MacSween's sentiments mirror a directive last year from a Toronto police official, who told residents amid a spike in car thefts that they should leave their car keys at their front doors so car thieves don't harm them.
“To prevent the possibility of being attacked in your home, leave your fobs at the front door because they are breaking into your home to steal your car; they don’t want anything else," Cst. Marco Ricciardi said, according to City News Toronto. "A lot of them that they’re arresting have guns on them, and they are not toy guns. They are real guns. They’re loaded.”
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