Life:The first time in my life riding in a police car in Canada

I didn’t have much class today, so I stayed home working on a project. I didn’t expect this to happen.

I went to the bathroom to pee, and after leaving, I turned on the exhaust fan—just standard gentlemanly practice, right? Then the tenant upstairs, surnamed Yang, came down and knocked on my door loudly—bang, bang, bang—and told me not to turn on the fan because it was too noisy. I said to him, ‘I can’t even turn on the fan after peeing?’ I told him I would turn it off later. (Actually, this was the second time he had knocked on my door.) He said, ‘Remember to turn it off, or I’ll beat you up.’ I said, ‘You can try.’ He then slapped his right hand with his left, three times right in front of my face, saying, ‘f# your m*,’ and some of his saliva even splashed on my face. Honestly, even toilet cleaner wouldn’t get rid of that stink. I pushed his neck away, and he came at me, choking my neck for at least 10 seconds. At that point, I fought back. Using the muscles I’d built up at the gym over the past few months, I pushed him back onto the couch. After that, he didn’t dare to make a move—just a typical bully who preys on the weak and fears the strong. I only used 50% of my strength; if I’d used 100%, he might have had a slipped disc. In the process of pushing him, a vase got knocked over. He said I needed to pay for it. Things had already escalated to this point, and he still cared about the money in his pocket. I told him, ‘What does it matter to you whether I pay or not?’ I forgot to mention, he’s notorious for being stingy. The thing that shocked me the most was that he told me to get out, as if this was his house. Whether I leave or not, I don’t know, but it’s a fact that he’s driven away three tenants. Maybe he wants to kick everyone out so he can have the whole house to himself.

Then I went back to my room to get my phone, planning to record whatever he might do next. He said, ‘Just wait, I’m calling the landlord.’

Over half an hour later, the landlord returned. I opened the door, and the landlord told me to be prepared because Yang had called the police. At that point, I was nervous, afraid of having any criminal record in Canada. I went into my room to pray and face whatever was coming.

The police and an ambulance arrived. Yang apparently got into the ambulance, and the landlord said, ‘He might be trying to extort money from me. He says his back hurts.’ ‘A scammer? Lying on the couch hurts? I didn’t even use my fists. If I had, wouldn’t he have gotten a concussion?’

After a brief inquiry, the police said I was going to be taken away and handcuffed. I was put in the police car, and while sitting there, the male officer told me, ‘Yang wants to go to court, so you’ll need a lawyer. I can get one for you, free of charge.’ During all this, I felt very calm, knowing what had happened and that I wasn’t in the wrong. I patiently sat in the car for over 10 minutes until the female officer came running up to the male officer and said Yang had dropped the court case. The male officer opened the car door and said, ‘Tell me your story.’ I told them everything that had happened. After that, they let me go.

For the first time in my life, I got to ride in a police car in Canada without a criminal record. How fortunate. Thanks to that troublesome tenant, and thanks to the Canadian cops. They were very understanding and fair. The female officer even asked me, ‘Howard, how old are you?’ ‘You’re probably a student or just started working. Try to avoid conflicts so they don’t affect your life.’

When self-defense is necessary, violence is an option, but I know it must not be abused. I restrained my anger as much as possible at that time and didn’t use my fists. Considering our statuses—he’s a permanent resident, and I’m a temporary resident—if I had hit him hard, he would have had more leverage, and I might have been deported. Also, I couldn’t bully an elder (he’s probably 55 years old, weak but with a big ego, a man-child raised in Canada), especially since when he called the landlord, he said, ‘This kid has gone crazy, come back quickly.’ Be it a good result or bad for me, I glorify God. Peace and love with neighbors.

2024-04-09

After returning from the police car, I told Sam about the incident. He asked if I wanted to grab dinner, and he treated me to Swiss Chalet. We talked about a lot of things, various topics, and he comforted me about what happened today. I like Canada because of people like Sam. I dislike Canada because of people like that scammer.

2024-04-10