Weep for our lost brothers in .CA

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CTV Toronto - Lego gun sighting leads to police takedown - CTV News, Shows and Sports -- Canadian Television


I hate the fact that a gun sighting should cause everyone to go into panic mode. I appreciate that the cops were just doing their job and I'm not faulting them. What bugs me is the fact that it was necessary for them to waste their time on not only a MWG call, but one that turned out to be made out of Lego.

 

[stilllearning09]

"Dent wondered what the phone call cost the city in taxes."

No common cents cost that city lots of $$$. I don't fault the police, either. Just somebody's over reaction at the sight of a gun.

 

[Seancass]

When i first read that, i thought this was happening in California. I guess it makes a little (teeny-tiny) bit more sense happening in canada.

It's a little scary how scared people are. Guys sees a gun and immediately thinks there is about to be a mass shooting and is worried about his family that doesn't even live there yet.

 

[Dryden]

Californians call it in when they hear a friend of a friend thought they saw a man with what appears to be an assault weapon.
Maybe they'll also start pulling the fire alarm before the fire starts.

 

[rambone]

Geez! There is so much wrong about this.

Lego gun sighting leads to police takedown

A Toronto designer became a participant in a real-life Flashpoint-style event when police tactical officers showed up at his workplace over a firearms call that involved a Lego gun.
"I've had numerous people either say, 'Oh my God, I thought Flashpoint was just filming,' or, 'This is totally going to be a Flashpoint episode at some point'," Jeremy Bell told ctvtoronto.ca on Thursday. "Yeah, it's pretty surreal."
Flashpoint is a CTV drama, set in Toronto, about a police "strategic response unit."
Late Wednesday afternoon, Bell -- a partner with the digital design firm Teehan+Lax, located at 460 Richmond St. W. -- was assembling a replica handgun made out of Lego that had arrived.
"It arrived yesterday and at the end of the day, I decided to put it together. I literally assembled it, handed it to a co-worker (who promptly broke it) and then put it back in the box," Bell wrote in a posting on his personal blog.
"The SWAT arrived shortly thereafter."
Across the street, Michael Dent was working in his third-floor loft. He saw what he thought was someone assembling a firearm, so he took some photos and called the police.
"I don't really like guns right beside me -- and then it turned out to be Lego," Dent chuckled.
But he added, "My girlfriend is moving in with her daughter and stuff, and it looks right into our loft where we sleep, so no, not cool."
Dent said the door of the office was shut, and it never is, so for all he knew, someone might have been laid off "and about to go postal, so that's why I called."
Bell was in his office and then heard a voice yelling his name and instructing him to come into the hallway.
"At first I thought, 'who did I **** off?' I wasn't worried about my safety ... but I certainly wasn't expecting to see an armed officer," he said, adding he couldn't remember what type of firearm was pointed at him.
Bell said he knew he hadn't done anything wrong.
"As soon as I realized they were actual cops and this was not a joke, I was, 'What else could it be? It's got to be the stupid Lego gun I put together'," he said.
Police had him put his hands on his head and walk backwards towards them. "They cuffed me, pulled me into the stairwell and threw me against the wall. They spread my legs and checked to make sure I didn't have a weapon on me," he said.
Bell said he told them where the Lego gun was, they went to check it out and then uncuffed him. He was handcuffed for about 90 seconds.
After seeing the photos, Bell said he can understand why Dent called the cops, although to him, it's still clearly Lego.
"There's like a million pieces on the table," he said, adding, it's not like he waved it around or took it out on the street.
Const. Tony Vella of the Toronto Police Service no charges resulted from the incident, the response for which involved uniformed and tactical officers.
"We have to take all the gun calls seriously because we don't know what we're getting involved in," Vella said. "There's the potential for public risk as well as the risk to the officers' safety."
On his blog, Bell wrote: "The cops clearly don't take this **** lightly."
Dent wondered what his phone call cost the city in taxes.

 

[indykid]

It is a good thing that jerk didn't see this:

 

[pudly]

Not to justify anything that happened, but I can understand that someone thought this was a real gun. I figured being Lego, it would have a non-realistic shape and/or obviously fake colors, but they actually would look real from a distance:

​

 

[Scutter01]

Not to justify anything that happened, but I can understand that someone thought this was a real gun. I figured being Lego, it would have a non-realistic shape and/or obviously fake colors, but they actually would look real from a distance:

As I said, I'm not faulting the police or the guy that built the toy. What I'm faulting is a society that goes bananas at the mere sight of what they think is a gun. It's sad. Even if it HAD been a gun, he wasn't doing anything wrong (aside from guns being illegal in Canada). He was just sitting at his desk.

 

[john67103]

That whole guns illegal in Canada kinda explains the paranoia. The masses are trained to fear guns, not to respect them. Makes me glad I don't live in Canada.

 

[Panama]

Not to justify anything that happened, but I can understand that someone thought this was a real gun. I figured being Lego, it would have a non-realistic shape and/or obviously fake colors, but they actually would look real from a distance:

​

What caliber of Lego does that fire?

 

[Josh Ward]

Sad, very sad. I can't fault the officeres, they were only doing as they are told. Whats so very sad is all indocternation that makes the sheeple so scared.

 

[GuyRelford]

Not to justify anything that happened, but I can understand that someone thought this was a real gun. I figured being Lego, it would have a non-realistic shape and/or obviously fake colors, but they actually would look real from a distance:

​

That does look more real than I had imagined - and it actually contains slightly less plastic than my beloved Glocks!!

 

[jedi]

FYI...

There is no such thing as "legos" or "Lego". LEGO (all caps) is the name of brand. When talking about the bricks it is correct to call them "LEGO bricks" or "LEGO elements". But not Lego or legos.

Sorry for the rant I understand most of you do not play/collect/deal with LEGO toys but as one that does just wanted to spread the word on this.

Also those guns are NOT made by The LEGO Company. They do not support, endorse that product. It's a custom shop that uses LEGO bricks to make the product along with custom LEGO like building instructions.

 

[mrw]

This company has gotten so many orders since this report that they say they have a three weeks backlog now.

 

[jedi]

Well a little "advertisting" never hurts you know. =)
They are probably making a $15 to $25 profit on each item only. So the more order the better. Only problem is going to be "supply" of the LEGO bricks.

The LEGO Company does sell bulk bricks but not every type of brick and it's expensive to order bulk bricks from TLC. Thus most custom shops have to use BrickLink - Unofficial LEGO® Marketplace (sort of like an eBay for LEGO) but alas most vendors don't have the massive amount of bricks that this shop will need so they will probably have to order from multiple sources and thus why the backorder.

Here is another LEGO custom shop that has been very successful & knows all the woes and pains of the limited brick supply.
Brickmania: Custom LEGO Kits by Daniel Siskind


And for all you "gun nuts" check out these custom LEGO-like guns for your LEGO minifigs.

BrickArms

 

[sonovasailor]

If America continues on it's present course. THIS is our children's future!

 

[dbd870]

"I don't really like guns right beside me --

Baaa....