Ottawa police arrest her while she is doing Tai Chi

An elderly woman was aggressively stopped by Ottawa police while simply enjoying an outdoor Tai Chi session.

Ottawa police arrest her while she is doing Tai Chi

An elderly woman was aggressively stopped by Ottawa police while simply enjoying an outdoor Tai Chi session.

The situation quickly made the rounds on social media following a post on Reddit reporting an incident between an elderly non-English speaking woman and police officers in Centretown Park, Ottawa. According to the publication, the police were aggressive towards the lady, before managing to find someone to play the role of interpreter.

According to Umair Muhammad, who witnessed the scene, the lady often does her workouts in the park. “I often come to this park with my son and there is often an elderly Chinese woman who comes and practices Tai Chi in the playground. Sometimes she has this ornamental sword that she uses as part of her training,” he explained in an interview with CTV News.

This type of sword specific to the practice of Tai Chi is sometimes retractable and generally blunt. The woman allegedly put her tool in a bag before officers arrived, Muhammad said.

“They took the bag and started telling her to sit down and follow their instructions, otherwise she would be arrested,” he said, adding that he tried to intervene, in vain.

Umair Muhammad called the incident "absurd", saying that the police acted "overzealously", considering that the park is located very close to Chinatown.

Later in the day, the event raised many questions among the population. “What I read is exceptionally concerning and unwarranted,” wrote Ottawa mayoral candidate Catherine McKenney.

Police response

Despite growing questions, the Ottawa Police Service was slow to comment on the incident. It was in a message sent to Catherine McKenney on Monday evening that the acting chief, Steve Bell finally answered the questions. The content of the message was then shared Tuesday morning in a series of tweets.

The latter explained that the authorities received a call around 9:50 a.m. concerning a lady armed with a sword 75 in (6 ft, 3 in) long. However, the person hung up the line before dispatchers could ask him for further information. On the spot, the officers were led by parents worried about the situation, Chief Bell added.

There was indeed a language barrier between the lady and the police, however the latter managed to get in touch with a colleague who spoke Cantonese and Mandarin.

"The 'sword' was located and found to be a retractable device. The woman used it to do Tai Chi. It was returned to the woman. There were no arrests or charges and the elderly woman voluntarily left the park without incident. She has not received the order to leave, ”concluded the acting chief of the Ottawa police who claims to have analyzed the file from top to bottom.

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