Wednesday, March 31, 2010 VOL. 97 NO. 59 www.quesnelobserver.com $ 1 19 + 5 % GST SPRING REVEAL ............... A3 PASSIONATE FARMER ...... A15 SPECIAL O’ BOWLING.....A19 2008 WINNER QUESNEL - CARIBOO OBSERVER SINCE 1908 AUTUMN MacDONALD Observer Reporter The father of a mentally challenged, 90-pound Quesnel man is enraged after RCMP arrested his son at gunpoint. The apprehension occurred Monday afternoon after a neighbour claimed to have seen a man carrying a gun by the mobile home park near Correlieu Secondary. Rodney Moffat, 49, was walking past the school, to a store to buy milk when police apprehended him. “They, they threw me down,” Rodney sobbed as he spoke to the Observer. “They handcuffed me. They yelled at me.” Afterwards, Rodney was taken to hospital, where he was treated with tranquilizers. On Tuesday, he was icing his wrist and bruised ribs. The ordeal began when Rodney was outside his home, playing with a neon orange and silver plastic toy space gun, which Rodney had tucked into the waist of his pants. A neighbour mistook the gun and called RCMP. Before they arrived, Rodney had returned the toy gun to his house, then embarked on his journey for milk. Rodney’s parents – Eva and Karl – cannot believe police ar- rested their son. “Can’t they tell the difference?” Karl said, shaking his head. Karl, a retired police officer of 31 years with the Windsor Police Department, moved his family to the Quesnel area 16 years ago. “Rodney’s been here that entire time,” Karl said. “He poses no threat. He’s 90 pounds!” “I have no idea why they used such excessive force,” Eva added, taking a deep breath. “We feel betrayed. They’re the ones who are suppose to protect him.” RCMP issued a release stating police must take any report of open possession of a firearm seriously. “This is even more of a concern when an incident involving a possible firearm occurs near a school,” the release states. It goes on to say “once examined the toy gun appeared quite realistic tucked into the man’s pants. “It is very difficult to tell the difference between a genuine hand gun and a toy replica.” “I didn’t mean to...” Rodney starts, then stops, his whole body vibrates, he mashes a tissue under his thick glasses. “I didn’t mean to cause any trouble, dad.” Rodney Moffat’s toy gun draws police heat Innocent THE ACTION STARTS APRIL 8th see the April 7th issue of this newspaper. Rodney Moffat clutches the toy gun which caused RCMP offi- cers to arrest him at gunpoint. Autumn MacDonald photo 350 St. Laurent Ave. 250-992-5110 If you’re one of the millions suffering from chronic or acute back pain, don’t despair. We are here to help. We Treat... Dr. Michael Duperron QUESNEL CHIROPRACTIC • Headaches • Backaches • Fibromyalgia • Arthritis • Hip Pain • Shoulder Discomfort
CCNA - Best News Story, Autumn MacDonald
Mar 03, 2016
CCNA 2011 Premier Award Finalists Best News Story - Stephen Shaw Memorial Award (Circ. 4,000 to 12,499) Autumn MacDonald, Quesnel Cariboo Observer
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Wednesday, March 31, 2010 VOL. 97 NO. 59 www.quesnelobserver.com $119 + 5% GST
SPRING REVEAL ...............A3PASSIONATE FARMER ......A15SPECIAL O’ BOWLING.....A19
2008 WINNER
QUESNEL - CARIBOO
OBSERVERSINCE 1908
AUTUMN MacDONALD
Observer Reporter
The father of a mentally challenged, 90-pound Quesnel man is enraged after RCMP arrested his son at gunpoint.
The apprehension occurred Monday afternoon after a neighbour claimed to have seen a man carrying a gun by the mobile home park near Correlieu Secondary.
Rodney Moffat, 49, was walking past the school, to a store to buy milk when police apprehended him.
“They, they threw me down,” Rodney sobbed as he spoke to the Observer.
“They handcuffed me. They yelled at me.”Afterwards, Rodney was taken to hospital, where he was
treated with tranquilizers. On Tuesday, he was icing his wrist and bruised ribs.
The ordeal began when Rodney was outside his home, playing with a neon orange and silver plastic toy space gun, which Rodney had tucked into the waist of his pants.
A neighbour mistook the gun and called RCMP. Before they arrived, Rodney had returned the toy gun to his house, then embarked on his journey for milk.
Rodney’s parents – Eva and Karl – cannot believe police ar-rested their son.
“Can’t they tell the difference?” Karl said, shaking his head.
Karl, a retired police offi cer of 31 years with the Windsor Police Department, moved his family to the Quesnel area 16 years ago.
“Rodney’s been here that entire time,” Karl said.“He poses no threat. He’s 90 pounds!”“I have no idea why they used such excessive force,” Eva
added, taking a deep breath.“We feel betrayed. They’re the ones who are suppose to
protect him.”RCMP issued a release stating police must take any report
of open possession of a fi rearm seriously.“This is even more of a concern when an incident involving
a possible fi rearm occurs near a school,” the release states.It goes on to say “once examined the toy gun appeared
quite realistic tucked into the man’s pants. “It is very diffi cult to tell the difference between a genuine
hand gun and a toy replica.”“I didn’t mean to...” Rodney starts, then stops, his whole
body vibrates, he mashes a tissue under his thick glasses.“I didn’t mean to cause any trouble, dad.”
Rodney Moffat’s toy gun draws police heat
Innocent
THE ACTION STARTS
APRIL 8thsee the April 7th issue
of this newspaper.
Rodney Moffat clutches the toy gun which caused RCMP offi-
cers to arrest him at gunpoint. Autumn MacDonald photo
350 St. Laurent Ave. 250-992-5110
If you’re one of the millions suffering from chronic or
acute back pain, don’t despair. We are here to help.
We Treat...
Dr. Michael DuperronQUESNEL CHIROPRACTIC
• Headaches• Backaches• Fibromyalgia
• Arthritis• Hip Pain• Shoulder Discomfort
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