Your cops are doing *what* at St. Patrick's Day parties?
Good morning from the Region — three cities, one wire, zero time for small talk. Let's go.
So, here's the thing about this region: we're proud of our tech, our universities, and even our sometimes-chaotic Oktoberfest. But when I heard that the Waterloo police chief is doubling down on using snipers at large events, like the St. Patrick's Day street party in Uptown Waterloo, well, that just doesn't sit right. It's one thing to have a police presence, to manage the crowds that spill out onto King Street, but deploying snipers for what is, let's be honest, mostly a bunch of students having a few too many green beers? That feels like an escalation that doesn't fit the actual risk. It brings a whole different kind of energy to an event that's supposed to be about, you know, celebrating. I mean, we're not talking about some high-stakes situation at the Tannery here; this is a university town letting off some steam.
The optics of this are just… *wrong*. It makes you wonder what kind of message it sends to the students, to the families who live around Laurel Street, or even to the folks heading to the Waterloo Public Library that day. Are we living in a place where a street party warrants marksmen on rooftops? It feels like an overcorrection, like a sledgehammer for a nail, and it certainly doesn't feel very Kitchener-Waterloo, if you ask me. We're a sensible people here; we like our rules, but we also appreciate a bit of space to be ourselves without feeling like we're under constant surveillance.
Anja Baumann-Fong, Morning Wire, Kitchener-Waterloo.
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