Rcmp Enthusiast In Ontario Spent 2 Weeks In Jail After Ns Massacre

“I’ve always been a fan of the Mounties,” he told CBC News. “I wanted to join the RCMP years ago, but I was so short for the height requirement – it was five foot eight, and I was half an inch short.” Instead, he channeled his fervor for the national police into its equipment. He says he has spent thousands of dollars, mostly on eBay and at collectors’ shows, on hundreds of items, including three full uniforms, tops, shoulder patches, hats, collar pins, epaulets and a Stetson hat. On his mantle are RCMP figurines and two commemorative Royal Doulton ceramic busts. He dressed in red uniform serge he bought and had portraits taken at his home. he posted the photos online and framed them on his wall at home. His Facebook timeline is full of well wishes and congratulations to Mounties on various anniversaries and achievements. Thwing says he never imagined his passion – police call it obsession – would one day go south.

Raid with weapons

At 6:30 am on May 7, 2020, Thwing was in bed, listening to the radio, ready to start his day. “All I heard was a – excuse the expression – one hell of an explosion, and glass breaking and stuff. And an alarm going off in my house.” SWAT team members in riot gear kicked down his side door and rushed into his house and bedroom, rifles drawn. His home security camera captured seven police officers, though Thwing says he remembers almost a dozen. WATCHES | Home security camera captures police raid on Warren Thwing’s home in May 2020:

Police raid home of RCMP enthusiast

Security camera captures SWAT team entering Kingston, Ont., home searching for Mountie gear after NS massacre When he was told they were there to execute a search warrant because he was impersonating a police officer, Thwing said, it didn’t make sense to him. He said he asked an officer, “Why didn’t you ring the bell? And he said, ‘You had a gun.’” I said, “Yes. It’s locked”. Decades ago, Thwing had inherited a chipped and tarnished antique revolver from his grandfather, he said. Thwing said he has never shot it and it has no bullets. Thwing was handcuffed, taken to a police station and charged with one count of impersonating a peace officer. He was given a first court appearance later that day.

NS Mounties were on alert

Under normal circumstances, Thwing’s collection of RCMP items might never have caught the attention of the authorities. But just 2½ weeks earlier, on April 18, 2020, another man who had obtained an authentic RCMP uniform slaughtered 22 people in and around Portapique, NS, including a Mountie. He eluded the police for 13 hours, partly because he was driving a decommissioned RCMP patrol car bought at an auction and refitted to look like the real thing. In the following weeks, Nova Scotia Mounties scoured social media for anyone who had posted photos in RCMP gear. The force told the CBC in an email that “RCMP officers in Nova Scotia have been monitoring social media platforms regarding the use of RCMP uniform items by non-RCMP officers.”
Thwing posted this photo of himself in an RCMP ceremonial uniform, indoors and at home, on March 4, 2019. “I really wish I could wear this every day of my life, but unfortunately I wasn’t tall enough to rank the day,’ he wrote. More than a year later, police reported the image as part of an investigation into his home. (Warren Thwing/Facebook) Officers noted several photos of RCMP uniform items online, the email said. Gear like the traditional red Serge tunic can be bought on eBay, and the official Mountie online store sells abundance of items with the RCMP logo. But the only case that raised alarm was a Facebook account named Warren Thwing. “This individual was in photographs wearing the clothing in public. Therefore the information was forwarded to the police jurisdiction in Ontario,” the RCMP said. An RCMP spokesperson stressed there is absolutely no connection between the Nova Scotia shooter and Thwing. The Mounties began investigating local police in Kingston on May 5, 2020. A Kingston detective then went to Thwing’s Facebook page and noted some of his postings: One from March 2019, where he is at home wearing his ceremonial red uniform. another from October 2019, where he strolled around the Queen’s University campus wearing pants that matched his RCMP yellow-striped uniform, an RCMP sweatshirt he bought online at the official Mountie boutique, and a store-bought RCMP hat. and a photo of Thwing at home wearing the same hat and a face mask to which he had affixed an RCMP badge. Police were most concerned about an October 2019 Facebook photo of Thwing in public, wearing matching RCMP uniform pants, a cap with an RCMP insignia and an RCMP hoodie purchased at the Mounties’ official online gift shop. “I believe it is likely that if a member of the public had seen Thwing … that person would have believed that Thwing was a peace officer,” a detective wrote. (Submitted by Warren Thwing) The detective applied the next day to obtain a search warrant for Thwing’s home. “I believe William Warren Thwing is of interest to the RCMP and has been seen in public wearing an RCMP uniform,” he wrote in his application for a search warrant. “I think it’s likely that if a member of the public had seen Thwing wearing his uniform, that person would have thought Thwing was a peace officer.” The search warrant application said police were concerned Thwing might have an “interest in self-harm” because his Facebook bio at the time read: “I’m the biggest con and I really wonder why I was ever born. I wish I were dead.” Police also noted that Thwing had a gun permit and was the registered owner of a revolver.

2 weeks in jail

“Impersonation of a peace officer‘, as it is officially called, is a relatively minor offence. Courts have fined first-time offenders as little as $200, although the maximum penalty is up to five years in prison. Criminal defense lawyer Leora Shemesh, who advised the CBC on Thwing’s case but was not involved in it, said the circumstances should have allowed him to be released on a promise to appear in court at a later date. Criminal lawyer Leora Shemesh reviewed the evidence police used to obtain a search warrant in Thwing’s case and said she had “difficulty understanding where the offense lay”. (Mehrdad Nazarahari/CBC) But at his initial court appearance, someone — Thwing isn’t sure who because he appeared via video conference — asked him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Due to COVID-19 isolation requirements in provincial jails at the time, he was held for two weeks before finally being released on the condition that he surrender all “police clothing, insignia or other paraphernalia” to Kingston police. Thwing said it’s been a difficult time at the prison, with COVID-related lockdowns confining inmates to their cells for up to three days at a time. He wasn’t taking all his prescribed medications, for his diabetes and heart condition, she said, and he wasn’t being fed properly at first. The charge against him was dropped in March 2021.

“A Simple Knock on the Man’s Door”

Police in commando gear breaking into someone’s home unannounced is supposed to be rare in Canada. With a long legal precedent — hundreds of years old — Officers are usually required to knock and state their presence and purpose when executing a search warrant. Exceptions are allowed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms when there are reasonable grounds for concern about the destruction of evidence or potential harm to officers or occupants of the home. “Usually the records without search-warrant hits, especially with so many officers in a [SWAT team]it’s about guns and gangs — sometimes child pornography,” Shemesh said. WATCHES | Mountie buff spent 2 weeks in jail:

Ontario man says police raided his home on tip about Mountie memorabilia

An Ontario man is fighting to clear his name two years after police broke down his door in a no-knock raid, acting on a tip to the RCMP memorabilia collection in the wake of the Nova Scotia mass shooting. CBC News showed her the Kingston police search warrant application and a police incident report from 2018, when Thwing posted that the time was right to jump from a pedestrian bridge in nearby Gananoque, Ont., that was closed for fabrication (CBC said Thwing has a twisted sense of humor and the post was a joke). He also watched the home security camera video of the police raid on Thwing’s residence. Shemesh said not only did she believe the raid was unsolicited, but she saw almost no justification for a search warrant. “I had a hard time understanding where the offense was. Even when I read the warrant for the first time, I almost felt like I was missing something, that there had to be more,” he said. “A simple knock on the man’s door would have had the same effect.” Thwing has photos in his home and on Facebook of him wearing traditional RCMP gear. He was a big fan of the force and had an unfulfilled lifelong dream of becoming a Mountie. (Craig Chivers/CBC) Kingston police did not respond to questions from CBC News last week, saying officers involved in the operation were on vacation. One ongoing CBC News investigation in no-knock police raids across Canada they caused a lot of dubious business, including where tactical teams break into people’s homes based largely on the leads of paid, confidential informants, but then find none of the drugs or weapons they expected. Some police forces have admitted under oath that they use no-knock raids — called “dynamic entries” in…

title: “Rcmp Enthusiast In Ontario Spent 2 Weeks In Jail After Ns Massacre Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-01” author: “Miriam Phipps”

“I’ve always been a fan of the Mounties,” he told CBC News. “I wanted to join the RCMP years ago, but I was so short for the height requirement – it was five foot eight, and I was half an inch short.” Instead, he channeled his fervor for the national police into its equipment. He says he has spent thousands of dollars, mostly on eBay and at collectors’ shows, on hundreds of items, including three full uniforms, tops, shoulder patches, hats, collar pins, epaulets and a Stetson hat. On his mantle are RCMP figurines and two commemorative Royal Doulton ceramic busts. He dressed in red uniform serge he bought and had portraits taken at his home. he posted the photos online and framed them on his wall at home. His Facebook timeline is full of well wishes and congratulations to Mounties on various anniversaries and achievements. Thwing says he never imagined his passion – police call it obsession – would one day go south.

Raid with weapons

At 6:30 am on May 7, 2020, Thwing was in bed, listening to the radio, ready to start his day. “All I heard was a – excuse the expression – one hell of an explosion, and glass breaking and stuff. And an alarm going off in my house.” SWAT team members in riot gear kicked down his side door and rushed into his house and bedroom, rifles drawn. His home security camera captured seven police officers, though Thwing says he remembers almost a dozen. WATCHES | Home security camera captures police raid on Warren Thwing’s home in May 2020:

Police raid home of RCMP enthusiast

Security camera captures SWAT team entering Kingston, Ont., home searching for Mountie gear after NS massacre When he was told they were there to execute a search warrant because he was impersonating a police officer, Thwing said, it didn’t make sense to him. He said he asked an officer, “Why didn’t you ring the bell? And he said, ‘You had a gun.’” I said, “Yes. It’s locked”. Decades ago, Thwing had inherited a chipped and tarnished antique revolver from his grandfather, he said. Thwing said he has never shot it and it has no bullets. Thwing was handcuffed, taken to a police station and charged with one count of impersonating a peace officer. He was given a first court appearance later that day.

NS Mounties were on alert

Under normal circumstances, Thwing’s collection of RCMP items might never have caught the attention of the authorities. But just 2½ weeks earlier, on April 18, 2020, another man who had obtained an authentic RCMP uniform slaughtered 22 people in and around Portapique, NS, including a Mountie. He eluded the police for 13 hours, partly because he was driving a decommissioned RCMP patrol car bought at an auction and refitted to look like the real thing. In the following weeks, Nova Scotia Mounties scoured social media for anyone who had posted photos in RCMP gear. The force told the CBC in an email that “RCMP officers in Nova Scotia have been monitoring social media platforms regarding the use of RCMP uniform items by non-RCMP officers.”
Thwing posted this photo of himself in an RCMP ceremonial uniform, indoors and at home, on March 4, 2019. “I really wish I could wear this every day of my life, but unfortunately I wasn’t tall enough to rank the day,’ he wrote. More than a year later, police reported the image as part of an investigation into his home. (Warren Thwing/Facebook) Officers noted several photos of RCMP uniform items online, the email said. Gear like the traditional red Serge tunic can be bought on eBay, and the official Mountie online store sells abundance of items with the RCMP logo. But the only case that raised alarm was a Facebook account named Warren Thwing. “This individual was in photographs wearing the clothing in public. Therefore the information was forwarded to the police jurisdiction in Ontario,” the RCMP said. An RCMP spokesperson stressed there is absolutely no connection between the Nova Scotia shooter and Thwing. The Mounties began investigating local police in Kingston on May 5, 2020. A Kingston detective then went to Thwing’s Facebook page and noted some of his postings: One from March 2019, where he is at home wearing his ceremonial red uniform. another from October 2019, where he strolled around the Queen’s University campus wearing pants that matched his RCMP yellow-striped uniform, an RCMP sweatshirt he bought online at the official Mountie boutique, and a store-bought RCMP hat. and a photo of Thwing at home wearing the same hat and a face mask to which he had affixed an RCMP badge. Police were most concerned about an October 2019 Facebook photo of Thwing in public, wearing matching RCMP uniform pants, a cap with an RCMP insignia and an RCMP hoodie purchased at the Mounties’ official online gift shop. “I believe it is likely that if a member of the public had seen Thwing … that person would have believed that Thwing was a peace officer,” a detective wrote. (Submitted by Warren Thwing) The detective applied the next day to obtain a search warrant for Thwing’s home. “I believe William Warren Thwing is of interest to the RCMP and has been seen in public wearing an RCMP uniform,” he wrote in his application for a search warrant. “I think it’s likely that if a member of the public had seen Thwing wearing his uniform, that person would have thought Thwing was a peace officer.” The search warrant application said police were concerned Thwing might have an “interest in self-harm” because his Facebook bio at the time read: “I’m the biggest con and I really wonder why I was ever born. I wish I were dead.” Police also noted that Thwing had a gun permit and was the registered owner of a revolver.

2 weeks in jail

“Impersonation of a peace officer‘, as it is officially called, is a relatively minor offence. Courts have fined first-time offenders as little as $200, although the maximum penalty is up to five years in prison. Criminal defense lawyer Leora Shemesh, who advised the CBC on Thwing’s case but was not involved in it, said the circumstances should have allowed him to be released on a promise to appear in court at a later date. Criminal lawyer Leora Shemesh reviewed the evidence police used to obtain a search warrant in Thwing’s case and said she had “difficulty understanding where the offense lay”. (Mehrdad Nazarahari/CBC) But at his initial court appearance, someone — Thwing isn’t sure who because he appeared via video conference — asked him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Due to COVID-19 isolation requirements in provincial jails at the time, he was held for two weeks before finally being released on the condition that he surrender all “police clothing, insignia or other paraphernalia” to Kingston police. Thwing said it’s been a difficult time at the prison, with COVID-related lockdowns confining inmates to their cells for up to three days at a time. He wasn’t taking all his prescribed medications, for his diabetes and heart condition, she said, and he wasn’t being fed properly at first. The charge against him was dropped in March 2021.

“A Simple Knock on the Man’s Door”

Police in commando gear breaking into someone’s home unannounced is supposed to be rare in Canada. With a long legal precedent — hundreds of years old — Officers are usually required to knock and state their presence and purpose when executing a search warrant. Exceptions are allowed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms when there are reasonable grounds for concern about the destruction of evidence or potential harm to officers or occupants of the home. “Usually the records without search-warrant hits, especially with so many officers in a [SWAT team]it’s about guns and gangs — sometimes child pornography,” Shemesh said. WATCHES | Mountie buff spent 2 weeks in jail:

Ontario man says police raided his home on tip about Mountie memorabilia

An Ontario man is fighting to clear his name two years after police broke down his door in a no-knock raid, acting on a tip to the RCMP memorabilia collection in the wake of the Nova Scotia mass shooting. CBC News showed her the Kingston police search warrant application and a police incident report from 2018, when Thwing posted that the time was right to jump from a pedestrian bridge in nearby Gananoque, Ont., that was closed for fabrication (CBC said Thwing has a twisted sense of humor and the post was a joke). He also watched the home security camera video of the police raid on Thwing’s residence. Shemesh said not only did she believe the raid was unsolicited, but she saw almost no justification for a search warrant. “I had a hard time understanding where the offense was. Even when I read the warrant for the first time, I almost felt like I was missing something, that there had to be more,” he said. “A simple knock on the man’s door would have had the same effect.” Thwing has photos in his home and on Facebook of him wearing traditional RCMP gear. He was a big fan of the force and had an unfulfilled lifelong dream of becoming a Mountie. (Craig Chivers/CBC) Kingston police did not respond to questions from CBC News last week, saying officers involved in the operation were on vacation. One ongoing CBC News investigation in no-knock police raids across Canada they caused a lot of dubious business, including where tactical teams break into people’s homes based largely on the leads of paid, confidential informants, but then find none of the drugs or weapons they expected. Some police forces have admitted under oath that they use no-knock raids — called “dynamic entries” in…

title: “Rcmp Enthusiast In Ontario Spent 2 Weeks In Jail After Ns Massacre Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-12-18” author: “Rachel Loper”

“I’ve always been a fan of the Mounties,” he told CBC News. “I wanted to join the RCMP years ago, but I was so short for the height requirement – it was five foot eight, and I was half an inch short.” Instead, he channeled his fervor for the national police into its equipment. He says he has spent thousands of dollars, mostly on eBay and at collectors’ shows, on hundreds of items, including three full uniforms, tops, shoulder patches, hats, collar pins, epaulets and a Stetson hat. On his mantle are RCMP figurines and two commemorative Royal Doulton ceramic busts. He dressed in red uniform serge he bought and had portraits taken at his home. he posted the photos online and framed them on his wall at home. His Facebook timeline is full of well wishes and congratulations to Mounties on various anniversaries and achievements. Thwing says he never imagined his passion – police call it obsession – would one day go south.

Raid with weapons

At 6:30 am on May 7, 2020, Thwing was in bed, listening to the radio, ready to start his day. “All I heard was a – excuse the expression – one hell of an explosion, and glass breaking and stuff. And an alarm going off in my house.” SWAT team members in riot gear kicked down his side door and rushed into his house and bedroom, rifles drawn. His home security camera captured seven police officers, though Thwing says he remembers almost a dozen. WATCHES | Home security camera captures police raid on Warren Thwing’s home in May 2020:

Police raid home of RCMP enthusiast

Security camera captures SWAT team entering Kingston, Ont., home searching for Mountie gear after NS massacre When he was told they were there to execute a search warrant because he was impersonating a police officer, Thwing said, it didn’t make sense to him. He said he asked an officer, “Why didn’t you ring the bell? And he said, ‘You had a gun.’” I said, “Yes. It’s locked”. Decades ago, Thwing had inherited a chipped and tarnished antique revolver from his grandfather, he said. Thwing said he has never shot it and it has no bullets. Thwing was handcuffed, taken to a police station and charged with one count of impersonating a peace officer. He was given a first court appearance later that day.

NS Mounties were on alert

Under normal circumstances, Thwing’s collection of RCMP items might never have caught the attention of the authorities. But just 2½ weeks earlier, on April 18, 2020, another man who had obtained an authentic RCMP uniform slaughtered 22 people in and around Portapique, NS, including a Mountie. He eluded the police for 13 hours, partly because he was driving a decommissioned RCMP patrol car bought at an auction and refitted to look like the real thing. In the following weeks, Nova Scotia Mounties scoured social media for anyone who had posted photos in RCMP gear. The force told the CBC in an email that “RCMP officers in Nova Scotia have been monitoring social media platforms regarding the use of RCMP uniform items by non-RCMP officers.”
Thwing posted this photo of himself in an RCMP ceremonial uniform, indoors and at home, on March 4, 2019. “I really wish I could wear this every day of my life, but unfortunately I wasn’t tall enough to rank the day,’ he wrote. More than a year later, police reported the image as part of an investigation into his home. (Warren Thwing/Facebook) Officers noted several photos of RCMP uniform items online, the email said. Gear like the traditional red Serge tunic can be bought on eBay, and the official Mountie online store sells abundance of items with the RCMP logo. But the only case that raised alarm was a Facebook account named Warren Thwing. “This individual was in photographs wearing the clothing in public. Therefore the information was forwarded to the police jurisdiction in Ontario,” the RCMP said. An RCMP spokesperson stressed there is absolutely no connection between the Nova Scotia shooter and Thwing. The Mounties began investigating local police in Kingston on May 5, 2020. A Kingston detective then went to Thwing’s Facebook page and noted some of his postings: One from March 2019, where he is at home wearing his ceremonial red uniform. another from October 2019, where he strolled around the Queen’s University campus wearing pants that matched his RCMP yellow-striped uniform, an RCMP sweatshirt he bought online at the official Mountie boutique, and a store-bought RCMP hat. and a photo of Thwing at home wearing the same hat and a face mask to which he had affixed an RCMP badge. Police were most concerned about an October 2019 Facebook photo of Thwing in public, wearing matching RCMP uniform pants, a cap with an RCMP insignia and an RCMP hoodie purchased at the Mounties’ official online gift shop. “I believe it is likely that if a member of the public had seen Thwing … that person would have believed that Thwing was a peace officer,” a detective wrote. (Submitted by Warren Thwing) The detective applied the next day to obtain a search warrant for Thwing’s home. “I believe William Warren Thwing is of interest to the RCMP and has been seen in public wearing an RCMP uniform,” he wrote in his application for a search warrant. “I think it’s likely that if a member of the public had seen Thwing wearing his uniform, that person would have thought Thwing was a peace officer.” The search warrant application said police were concerned Thwing might have an “interest in self-harm” because his Facebook bio at the time read: “I’m the biggest con and I really wonder why I was ever born. I wish I were dead.” Police also noted that Thwing had a gun permit and was the registered owner of a revolver.

2 weeks in jail

“Impersonation of a peace officer‘, as it is officially called, is a relatively minor offence. Courts have fined first-time offenders as little as $200, although the maximum penalty is up to five years in prison. Criminal defense lawyer Leora Shemesh, who advised the CBC on Thwing’s case but was not involved in it, said the circumstances should have allowed him to be released on a promise to appear in court at a later date. Criminal lawyer Leora Shemesh reviewed the evidence police used to obtain a search warrant in Thwing’s case and said she had “difficulty understanding where the offense lay”. (Mehrdad Nazarahari/CBC) But at his initial court appearance, someone — Thwing isn’t sure who because he appeared via video conference — asked him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Due to COVID-19 isolation requirements in provincial jails at the time, he was held for two weeks before finally being released on the condition that he surrender all “police clothing, insignia or other paraphernalia” to Kingston police. Thwing said it’s been a difficult time at the prison, with COVID-related lockdowns confining inmates to their cells for up to three days at a time. He wasn’t taking all his prescribed medications, for his diabetes and heart condition, she said, and he wasn’t being fed properly at first. The charge against him was dropped in March 2021.

“A Simple Knock on the Man’s Door”

Police in commando gear breaking into someone’s home unannounced is supposed to be rare in Canada. With a long legal precedent — hundreds of years old — Officers are usually required to knock and state their presence and purpose when executing a search warrant. Exceptions are allowed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms when there are reasonable grounds for concern about the destruction of evidence or potential harm to officers or occupants of the home. “Usually the records without search-warrant hits, especially with so many officers in a [SWAT team]it’s about guns and gangs — sometimes child pornography,” Shemesh said. WATCHES | Mountie buff spent 2 weeks in jail:

Ontario man says police raided his home on tip about Mountie memorabilia

An Ontario man is fighting to clear his name two years after police broke down his door in a no-knock raid, acting on a tip to the RCMP memorabilia collection in the wake of the Nova Scotia mass shooting. CBC News showed her the Kingston police search warrant application and a police incident report from 2018, when Thwing posted that the time was right to jump from a pedestrian bridge in nearby Gananoque, Ont., that was closed for fabrication (CBC said Thwing has a twisted sense of humor and the post was a joke). He also watched the home security camera video of the police raid on Thwing’s residence. Shemesh said not only did she believe the raid was unsolicited, but she saw almost no justification for a search warrant. “I had a hard time understanding where the offense was. Even when I read the warrant for the first time, I almost felt like I was missing something, that there had to be more,” he said. “A simple knock on the man’s door would have had the same effect.” Thwing has photos in his home and on Facebook of him wearing traditional RCMP gear. He was a big fan of the force and had an unfulfilled lifelong dream of becoming a Mountie. (Craig Chivers/CBC) Kingston police did not respond to questions from CBC News last week, saying officers involved in the operation were on vacation. One ongoing CBC News investigation in no-knock police raids across Canada they caused a lot of dubious business, including where tactical teams break into people’s homes based largely on the leads of paid, confidential informants, but then find none of the drugs or weapons they expected. Some police forces have admitted under oath that they use no-knock raids — called “dynamic entries” in…

title: “Rcmp Enthusiast In Ontario Spent 2 Weeks In Jail After Ns Massacre Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-03” author: “William Johnson”

“I’ve always been a fan of the Mounties,” he told CBC News. “I wanted to join the RCMP years ago, but I was so short for the height requirement – it was five foot eight, and I was half an inch short.” Instead, he channeled his fervor for the national police into its equipment. He says he has spent thousands of dollars, mostly on eBay and at collectors’ shows, on hundreds of items, including three full uniforms, tops, shoulder patches, hats, collar pins, epaulets and a Stetson hat. On his mantle are RCMP figurines and two commemorative Royal Doulton ceramic busts. He dressed in red uniform serge he bought and had portraits taken at his home. he posted the photos online and framed them on his wall at home. His Facebook timeline is full of well wishes and congratulations to Mounties on various anniversaries and achievements. Thwing says he never imagined his passion – police call it obsession – would one day go south.

Raid with weapons

At 6:30 am on May 7, 2020, Thwing was in bed, listening to the radio, ready to start his day. “All I heard was a – excuse the expression – one hell of an explosion, and glass breaking and stuff. And an alarm going off in my house.” SWAT team members in riot gear kicked down his side door and rushed into his house and bedroom, rifles drawn. His home security camera captured seven police officers, though Thwing says he remembers almost a dozen. WATCHES | Home security camera captures police raid on Warren Thwing’s home in May 2020:

Police raid home of RCMP enthusiast

Security camera captures SWAT team entering Kingston, Ont., home searching for Mountie gear after NS massacre When he was told they were there to execute a search warrant because he was impersonating a police officer, Thwing said, it didn’t make sense to him. He said he asked an officer, “Why didn’t you ring the bell? And he said, ‘You had a gun.’” I said, “Yes. It’s locked”. Decades ago, Thwing had inherited a chipped and tarnished antique revolver from his grandfather, he said. Thwing said he has never shot it and it has no bullets. Thwing was handcuffed, taken to a police station and charged with one count of impersonating a peace officer. He was given a first court appearance later that day.

NS Mounties were on alert

Under normal circumstances, Thwing’s collection of RCMP items might never have caught the attention of the authorities. But just 2½ weeks earlier, on April 18, 2020, another man who had obtained an authentic RCMP uniform slaughtered 22 people in and around Portapique, NS, including a Mountie. He eluded the police for 13 hours, partly because he was driving a decommissioned RCMP patrol car bought at an auction and refitted to look like the real thing. In the following weeks, Nova Scotia Mounties scoured social media for anyone who had posted photos in RCMP gear. The force told the CBC in an email that “RCMP officers in Nova Scotia have been monitoring social media platforms regarding the use of RCMP uniform items by non-RCMP officers.”
Thwing posted this photo of himself in an RCMP ceremonial uniform, indoors and at home, on March 4, 2019. “I really wish I could wear this every day of my life, but unfortunately I wasn’t tall enough to rank the day,’ he wrote. More than a year later, police reported the image as part of an investigation into his home. (Warren Thwing/Facebook) Officers noted several photos of RCMP uniform items online, the email said. Gear like the traditional red Serge tunic can be bought on eBay, and the official Mountie online store sells abundance of items with the RCMP logo. But the only case that raised alarm was a Facebook account named Warren Thwing. “This individual was in photographs wearing the clothing in public. Therefore the information was forwarded to the police jurisdiction in Ontario,” the RCMP said. An RCMP spokesperson stressed there is absolutely no connection between the Nova Scotia shooter and Thwing. The Mounties began investigating local police in Kingston on May 5, 2020. A Kingston detective then went to Thwing’s Facebook page and noted some of his postings: One from March 2019, where he is at home wearing his ceremonial red uniform. another from October 2019, where he strolled around the Queen’s University campus wearing pants that matched his RCMP yellow-striped uniform, an RCMP sweatshirt he bought online at the official Mountie boutique, and a store-bought RCMP hat. and a photo of Thwing at home wearing the same hat and a face mask to which he had affixed an RCMP badge. Police were most concerned about an October 2019 Facebook photo of Thwing in public, wearing matching RCMP uniform pants, a cap with an RCMP insignia and an RCMP hoodie purchased at the Mounties’ official online gift shop. “I believe it is likely that if a member of the public had seen Thwing … that person would have believed that Thwing was a peace officer,” a detective wrote. (Submitted by Warren Thwing) The detective applied the next day to obtain a search warrant for Thwing’s home. “I believe William Warren Thwing is of interest to the RCMP and has been seen in public wearing an RCMP uniform,” he wrote in his application for a search warrant. “I think it’s likely that if a member of the public had seen Thwing wearing his uniform, that person would have thought Thwing was a peace officer.” The search warrant application said police were concerned Thwing might have an “interest in self-harm” because his Facebook bio at the time read: “I’m the biggest con and I really wonder why I was ever born. I wish I were dead.” Police also noted that Thwing had a gun permit and was the registered owner of a revolver.

2 weeks in jail

“Impersonation of a peace officer‘, as it is officially called, is a relatively minor offence. Courts have fined first-time offenders as little as $200, although the maximum penalty is up to five years in prison. Criminal defense lawyer Leora Shemesh, who advised the CBC on Thwing’s case but was not involved in it, said the circumstances should have allowed him to be released on a promise to appear in court at a later date. Criminal lawyer Leora Shemesh reviewed the evidence police used to obtain a search warrant in Thwing’s case and said she had “difficulty understanding where the offense lay”. (Mehrdad Nazarahari/CBC) But at his initial court appearance, someone — Thwing isn’t sure who because he appeared via video conference — asked him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Due to COVID-19 isolation requirements in provincial jails at the time, he was held for two weeks before finally being released on the condition that he surrender all “police clothing, insignia or other paraphernalia” to Kingston police. Thwing said it’s been a difficult time at the prison, with COVID-related lockdowns confining inmates to their cells for up to three days at a time. He wasn’t taking all his prescribed medications, for his diabetes and heart condition, she said, and he wasn’t being fed properly at first. The charge against him was dropped in March 2021.

“A Simple Knock on the Man’s Door”

Police in commando gear breaking into someone’s home unannounced is supposed to be rare in Canada. With a long legal precedent — hundreds of years old — Officers are usually required to knock and state their presence and purpose when executing a search warrant. Exceptions are allowed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms when there are reasonable grounds for concern about the destruction of evidence or potential harm to officers or occupants of the home. “Usually the records without search-warrant hits, especially with so many officers in a [SWAT team]it’s about guns and gangs — sometimes child pornography,” Shemesh said. WATCHES | Mountie buff spent 2 weeks in jail:

Ontario man says police raided his home on tip about Mountie memorabilia

An Ontario man is fighting to clear his name two years after police broke down his door in a no-knock raid, acting on a tip to the RCMP memorabilia collection in the wake of the Nova Scotia mass shooting. CBC News showed her the Kingston police search warrant application and a police incident report from 2018, when Thwing posted that the time was right to jump from a pedestrian bridge in nearby Gananoque, Ont., that was closed for fabrication (CBC said Thwing has a twisted sense of humor and the post was a joke). He also watched the home security camera video of the police raid on Thwing’s residence. Shemesh said not only did she believe the raid was unsolicited, but she saw almost no justification for a search warrant. “I had a hard time understanding where the offense was. Even when I read the warrant for the first time, I almost felt like I was missing something, that there had to be more,” he said. “A simple knock on the man’s door would have had the same effect.” Thwing has photos in his home and on Facebook of him wearing traditional RCMP gear. He was a big fan of the force and had an unfulfilled lifelong dream of becoming a Mountie. (Craig Chivers/CBC) Kingston police did not respond to questions from CBC News last week, saying officers involved in the operation were on vacation. One ongoing CBC News investigation in no-knock police raids across Canada they caused a lot of dubious business, including where tactical teams break into people’s homes based largely on the leads of paid, confidential informants, but then find none of the drugs or weapons they expected. Some police forces have admitted under oath that they use no-knock raids — called “dynamic entries” in…

title: “Rcmp Enthusiast In Ontario Spent 2 Weeks In Jail After Ns Massacre Klmat” ShowToc: true date: “2022-11-08” author: “Maria James”

“I’ve always been a fan of the Mounties,” he told CBC News. “I wanted to join the RCMP years ago, but I was so short for the height requirement – it was five foot eight, and I was half an inch short.” Instead, he channeled his fervor for the national police into its equipment. He says he has spent thousands of dollars, mostly on eBay and at collectors’ shows, on hundreds of items, including three full uniforms, tops, shoulder patches, hats, collar pins, epaulets and a Stetson hat. On his mantle are RCMP figurines and two commemorative Royal Doulton ceramic busts. He dressed in red uniform serge he bought and had portraits taken at his home. he posted the photos online and framed them on his wall at home. His Facebook timeline is full of well wishes and congratulations to Mounties on various anniversaries and achievements. Thwing says he never imagined his passion – police call it obsession – would one day go south.

Raid with weapons

At 6:30 am on May 7, 2020, Thwing was in bed, listening to the radio, ready to start his day. “All I heard was a – excuse the expression – one hell of an explosion, and glass breaking and stuff. And an alarm going off in my house.” SWAT team members in riot gear kicked down his side door and rushed into his house and bedroom, rifles drawn. His home security camera captured seven police officers, though Thwing says he remembers almost a dozen. WATCHES | Home security camera captures police raid on Warren Thwing’s home in May 2020:

Police raid home of RCMP enthusiast

Security camera captures SWAT team entering Kingston, Ont., home searching for Mountie gear after NS massacre When he was told they were there to execute a search warrant because he was impersonating a police officer, Thwing said, it didn’t make sense to him. He said he asked an officer, “Why didn’t you ring the bell? And he said, ‘You had a gun.’” I said, “Yes. It’s locked”. Decades ago, Thwing had inherited a chipped and tarnished antique revolver from his grandfather, he said. Thwing said he has never shot it and it has no bullets. Thwing was handcuffed, taken to a police station and charged with one count of impersonating a peace officer. He was given a first court appearance later that day.

NS Mounties were on alert

Under normal circumstances, Thwing’s collection of RCMP items might never have caught the attention of the authorities. But just 2½ weeks earlier, on April 18, 2020, another man who had obtained an authentic RCMP uniform slaughtered 22 people in and around Portapique, NS, including a Mountie. He eluded the police for 13 hours, partly because he was driving a decommissioned RCMP patrol car bought at an auction and refitted to look like the real thing. In the following weeks, Nova Scotia Mounties scoured social media for anyone who had posted photos in RCMP gear. The force told the CBC in an email that “RCMP officers in Nova Scotia have been monitoring social media platforms regarding the use of RCMP uniform items by non-RCMP officers.”
Thwing posted this photo of himself in an RCMP ceremonial uniform, indoors and at home, on March 4, 2019. “I really wish I could wear this every day of my life, but unfortunately I wasn’t tall enough to rank the day,’ he wrote. More than a year later, police reported the image as part of an investigation into his home. (Warren Thwing/Facebook) Officers noted several photos of RCMP uniform items online, the email said. Gear like the traditional red Serge tunic can be bought on eBay, and the official Mountie online store sells abundance of items with the RCMP logo. But the only case that raised alarm was a Facebook account named Warren Thwing. “This individual was in photographs wearing the clothing in public. Therefore the information was forwarded to the police jurisdiction in Ontario,” the RCMP said. An RCMP spokesperson stressed there is absolutely no connection between the Nova Scotia shooter and Thwing. The Mounties began investigating local police in Kingston on May 5, 2020. A Kingston detective then went to Thwing’s Facebook page and noted some of his postings: One from March 2019, where he is at home wearing his ceremonial red uniform. another from October 2019, where he strolled around the Queen’s University campus wearing pants that matched his RCMP yellow-striped uniform, an RCMP sweatshirt he bought online at the official Mountie boutique, and a store-bought RCMP hat. and a photo of Thwing at home wearing the same hat and a face mask to which he had affixed an RCMP badge. Police were most concerned about an October 2019 Facebook photo of Thwing in public, wearing matching RCMP uniform pants, a cap with an RCMP insignia and an RCMP hoodie purchased at the Mounties’ official online gift shop. “I believe it is likely that if a member of the public had seen Thwing … that person would have believed that Thwing was a peace officer,” a detective wrote. (Submitted by Warren Thwing) The detective applied the next day to obtain a search warrant for Thwing’s home. “I believe William Warren Thwing is of interest to the RCMP and has been seen in public wearing an RCMP uniform,” he wrote in his application for a search warrant. “I think it’s likely that if a member of the public had seen Thwing wearing his uniform, that person would have thought Thwing was a peace officer.” The search warrant application said police were concerned Thwing might have an “interest in self-harm” because his Facebook bio at the time read: “I’m the biggest con and I really wonder why I was ever born. I wish I were dead.” Police also noted that Thwing had a gun permit and was the registered owner of a revolver.

2 weeks in jail

“Impersonation of a peace officer‘, as it is officially called, is a relatively minor offence. Courts have fined first-time offenders as little as $200, although the maximum penalty is up to five years in prison. Criminal defense lawyer Leora Shemesh, who advised the CBC on Thwing’s case but was not involved in it, said the circumstances should have allowed him to be released on a promise to appear in court at a later date. Criminal lawyer Leora Shemesh reviewed the evidence police used to obtain a search warrant in Thwing’s case and said she had “difficulty understanding where the offense lay”. (Mehrdad Nazarahari/CBC) But at his initial court appearance, someone — Thwing isn’t sure who because he appeared via video conference — asked him to undergo a psychiatric evaluation. Due to COVID-19 isolation requirements in provincial jails at the time, he was held for two weeks before finally being released on the condition that he surrender all “police clothing, insignia or other paraphernalia” to Kingston police. Thwing said it’s been a difficult time at the prison, with COVID-related lockdowns confining inmates to their cells for up to three days at a time. He wasn’t taking all his prescribed medications, for his diabetes and heart condition, she said, and he wasn’t being fed properly at first. The charge against him was dropped in March 2021.

“A Simple Knock on the Man’s Door”

Police in commando gear breaking into someone’s home unannounced is supposed to be rare in Canada. With a long legal precedent — hundreds of years old — Officers are usually required to knock and state their presence and purpose when executing a search warrant. Exceptions are allowed under the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms when there are reasonable grounds for concern about the destruction of evidence or potential harm to officers or occupants of the home. “Usually the records without search-warrant hits, especially with so many officers in a [SWAT team]it’s about guns and gangs — sometimes child pornography,” Shemesh said. WATCHES | Mountie buff spent 2 weeks in jail:

Ontario man says police raided his home on tip about Mountie memorabilia

An Ontario man is fighting to clear his name two years after police broke down his door in a no-knock raid, acting on a tip to the RCMP memorabilia collection in the wake of the Nova Scotia mass shooting. CBC News showed her the Kingston police search warrant application and a police incident report from 2018, when Thwing posted that the time was right to jump from a pedestrian bridge in nearby Gananoque, Ont., that was closed for fabrication (CBC said Thwing has a twisted sense of humor and the post was a joke). He also watched the home security camera video of the police raid on Thwing’s residence. Shemesh said not only did she believe the raid was unsolicited, but she saw almost no justification for a search warrant. “I had a hard time understanding where the offense was. Even when I read the warrant for the first time, I almost felt like I was missing something, that there had to be more,” he said. “A simple knock on the man’s door would have had the same effect.” Thwing has photos in his home and on Facebook of him wearing traditional RCMP gear. He was a big fan of the force and had an unfulfilled lifelong dream of becoming a Mountie. (Craig Chivers/CBC) Kingston police did not respond to questions from CBC News last week, saying officers involved in the operation were on vacation. One ongoing CBC News investigation in no-knock police raids across Canada they caused a lot of dubious business, including where tactical teams break into people’s homes based largely on the leads of paid, confidential informants, but then find none of the drugs or weapons they expected. Some police forces have admitted under oath that they use no-knock raids — called “dynamic entries” in…