Interim chief calls for review after police called on woman doing Tai Chi in Ottawa park

Interim police chief Steve Bell has responded to an incident where police officers were called on a woman who was doing Tai Chi with a sword at Dundonald Park on May 30. 

Bell posted on Twitter that police were called on Monday, May 30 where a caller was concerned about a woman’s sword, which Bell claimed was described as being “75 inches” in length. Bell said the caller hung up before more information could be gathered. 

“A patrol officer attended the Somerset Street West park at 9:59 a.m. and located a woman inside the fenced area of the children’s park,” Bell said in his response on Twitter. “The officer was also directed to her by concerned parents.”

Bell said that the officer attempted to speak with woman, but was unable to communicate properly due to a language barrier, but was able to get someone on the phone to help translate. 

Bell noted the officer chose not to ask the woman for identification. 

“The sword was located and found to be a collapsible device,” Bell said. “The woman was using it to do Tai Chi. It was returned to the woman. There was no arrest or charge and the elderly woman willingly left the park without incident. She was not directed to leave.”

Bell said officers are often dispatched to incidents with very little information and their role is to quickly de-escalate a situation and determine if a crime occurred.

“Often, there are misunderstandings on everyone’s part,” he said. “Those misunderstandings can be amplified by information spread on social media and other conversations in the absence of the full picture.”

Bell said he asked for a review of the incident. 

“It's important that our community sees this information and considers the impacts of misunderstandings and barriers like language,” he added. “It is something we can all learn from.”

The following is a message from the Interim Chief of Police, Steve Bell, that was issued to Councillor McKenney and the Police Services Board last night in response to concerns about a recent incident in Dundonald Park. (1/14) pic.twitter.com/zWXSGpZdQR

— Ottawa Police (@OttawaPolice) May 31, 2022