Officers can't enforce the law by running away. Killing a miscreant in defence of property is a no-no in Canada. A Toronto shopkeeper who shot a thief running from his store a few years ago was a national story.
It's not so much as not having experience with enforcement, Doug, as of a different culture. Life is valued more highly than a cigar or TV set. Officers even removing their sidearms on duty is an automatic inquiry.
King, what you leave out is that public opinion was solidly on the side of the shopkeeper in that and several other high profile similar "national story" cases in Toronto and in Winnipeg over the last 5 or 6 years. Our courts and legal system is solidly out of step with public opinion in this area.
