cudmore said:
Hey folks,
Thanks for the renewed welcome.
Here's the thing, I saw Westbrook's Youtube posting, because someone I am Facebook friends with in Ottawa had seen it on one of his friend's pages and that guy was friends with Westbrook's wife's sister, if i have that right.
So, here's the point of saying that: Cameras are ubiqutious, and with the Internet, the pictures they take are everywhere, too.
You pretty much can not do anything anywhere in public and expect that it's safe from exposure. And if what you have done is questionable, or, you have a hater on your hands, you can expect things to get nasty.
But there's no indication of malice on Westbrook's part than I am aware of. He tells me he was just garden variety curious, and I believe him.
I think he makes audio recordings of all of his public photgraphy specifcially because sometimes people (and cops) get antsy about having cameras about.
I guess he feels its protection, or evidence, if he should get shoved about by a rookie traffic cop or some such.
But none of that is relevant to this story, Westbrook says, because no matter what he said, no matter who he was, he believes at law he had a right to be there and to do what he was doing.
He says he got his back up (and got snippy, himself) once the MP started name-dropping the RCMP det commander.
He says he felt he was being threatened with unlawful arrest.
If I could slip off my reporter's hat for one moment, the only thing I would point out is that all it took was one nosy local with a camera to lift the lid on a CANSOFCOM op. And those are just the times we live in.
Hilarious...
Not that I've ever been 'special' (except in that endearing 'short bus' kind of way), but some strategies I and others have employed fairly successfully in similar situations include:
-Tell him the truth: "this is a military exercise and if you call (have a number handy where civvies can call for more info) you can find out more about what's going on". This obviously needs to be part of a contingency plan in the op order development process.
-Offer to take the guy's picture in front of a piece of nondescript machinery vs. people's faces. People love to get their photos taken beside army trucks and things like that
-Hand him a cigarette, chocolate bar etc and talk to him and be genuinely interested in what he does. Get his contact information and offer to connect him up with people who can feed him some information later (needs to be followed up of course). I used to keep dog biscuits and boiled sweets in my pocket because the people who usually bounced us accidentally were either walking their dogs or chasing their kids.
-Have a non-descript cover story available e.g., Keep some recruiting business cards in your pockets and hand him one and say you are practising for some kind of upcoming display. This can be risky - especially if it's not the truth.
-Call for backup and keep the guy busy in conversation until relieved by a PAFO or someone else on the op who can talk to the guy while you get on with the business. I've seen people like Padres, RSMs and Paymasters be good at this kind of thing if there are no PAFOs around. Of course this, once again, would require some pre-planning.
- This was always a good one... Civvy asks soldier "Hey, what's going on here?". Soldier says "Well, what do YOU think it looks like?' (with the usual eye roll). Take it from there... usually they say something like 'Oh, looks like a military exercise or something', then you can say, 'Yep, we'll be done here pretty soon.'
And, of course, the most honest response to the question 'What are you doing here' is usually 'Honestly buddy, I have no friggin' idea. I just shut up and do what I'm told' ;D
