WARMINGTON: Toronto cop pinned by vehicle 'very upset'

· Toronto Sun

It’s not easy for any cop who has to use his weapon, so it’s understandable how devastated this officer was when he understood that the driver who was coming straight at him and was then shot was just 12.

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“He’s very upset,” a Toronto Police peer said. “It’s the last thing he wanted to have to do.”

But it appears it was the only thing Const. Arlind Cakiqi, of 55 Division, could do if he wanted to stay alive, or at least only receive major injuries.

Even though he had been struck by a stolen car that pinned him up against a concrete barrier on Monday, in excruciating pain, the officer who shot at a driver to try to stop the threat and save his own life was only worried about one thing.

“He was already asking how the driver was doing. But as soon as he heard it was a 12-year-old boy, the only thing on his mind was how the kid was doing?” a Toronto Police source said. “He was shaken up when he heard the age of the child.”

Both child and cop were taken to hospital.

Cakiqi, a two-year veteran of TPS, was treated for an injured arm and back and cuts and bruises. He was released with advice to seek more assessment Tuesday.

“He has an injured toe and it’s believed it may have been run over by a tire,” a police source said. “He may have to go back to hospital.”

Meanwhile, from all accounts, ‘the kid’ — charged with attempted murder — is also doing OK medically. Late in the day, it was still unclear if he was struck in his cheek by a bullet from the officer’s gun or some shattered glass that likely went flying as a result of that round going through the windshield.

Fortunate to be alive

Whatever it is determined to be, both are fortunate to be alive. One more inch either way and both could have died. And it’s not lost on any cop, there was almost a need for a third a police funeral.

“It was close,” Toronto Police Association president Clayton Campbell said. “The officer is very lucky to have minor injuries.”

Of course, Toronto Police have called in the province’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) to conduct a thorough probe into why an officer fired his gun and all other details surrounding what happened here early Monday at about 1 a.m. at Millwood Rd. and Donlands Ave.

Campbell said this is the SIU’s job. But the jobs of the men and women he represents seems to be getting more dangerous by the week.

‘Blatant disrespect for our members’

“We recognize the SIU has a job to do and we will support our members throughout this process. However, it is also time to focus on the actions of those who are putting our members in positions where they feel the use of force is their only option,” Campbell said. “These incidents should concern everyone. The blatant disrespect for our members, leading to injuries and even death, must come to an end.”

It’s not lost on anybody who understands the city that a 12-year-old with passengers about the same age flying around in a vehicle allegedly stolen from someone driving for a ride-sharing company offers insight on just how messed up Toronto has become. Many of the violent crimes today are being committed by people close to 18 or younger.

Still, a stolen car at 12? Wow. What is this world coming to?

“We have 18-year-olds, barely adults, involved in the (slaying) of (Const.) Marc Pinizzotto and now another serious incident. The fact that we could have lost another member due to the actions of a 12-year-old is beyond frustrating,” Campbell said. “Once again, while most people were sleeping, another police officer was injured protecting this city. Thankfully, this time, the officer was able to go home.”

A 12-year-old with a weapon can kill a person just as dead as someone who does not fall under the leniency of the Youth Criminal Justice Act, as many of these offenders do.

But here’s a question many are asking and others are wondering: How many police funerals can one community withstand? Because if we are honest about it, we almost ended up with three.

Two is bad enough.

Already with their hands full with the FIFA World Cup, the Ontario policing world is preparing for the services for OPP Const. Tarun Bali at the Mississauga Entertainment Centre Thursday and Const. Marc Pinizzotto, unofficially set for June 24 at the Congress Centre on Dixon Rd. in Etobicoke. Both officers were slain last week.

It came very close to happening to Const. Arlind Cakiqi as well.

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