The heroic Canadian cop who single-handedly arrested the suspect in the horrific Toronto van attack without firing a single shot is the son of a former Hong Kong policeman, according to reports.
Constable Ken Lam has received international praise for his restraint and professionalism in apprehending the suspect soon after he allegedly plowed a rented van into pedestrians on a crowded sidewalk, killing 10 and injuring more than a dozen.
A reporter from Canadian television network Global News later tracked down Lam’s father David Lam, an immigrant from Hong Kong, previously a sergeant in the city’s auxiliary police force, according to The Toronto Star.
The senior Lam, who now runs a restaurant in, Ontario, said he’d only spoken to his son briefly since the dramatic arrest, footage of which was captured by bystanders, but felt proud of his actions.
“My son called me [and] told me, ‘Daddy, everything is fine. I arrested the suspect … I didn’t even fire any shots,” he told Global. “I said, ‘You did a good job.’”
The father of Ken Lam — the officer who took down the van attack suspect without firing a shot — says he is proud of his son. @globalnewsto #TorontoAttacks pic.twitter.com/9amvKhPipj
— Kamil Karamali (@KamilKaramali) April 24, 2018
The stand-off and arrest, filmed by bystanders, lasted less than a minute and shows Lam confronting the man with calls to “get down.”
The suspect, though, points an object threateningly at the officer and shouts “kill me” and “I have a gun in my pocket.”
His voice remaining calm, Lam again ordered the man to get down and warns he will shoot if he fails to cooperate. Remaining defiant, the man, yells, “shoot me in head.” He then advances toward Lam, who slightly backs off before realizing the suspect is not armed.
The officer then switches to his baton and proceeds to arrest the suspect, who submits and lies down.
The suspect, later identified as 25-year-old Alek Minassia, was on Tuesday charged with 10 counts of premeditated murder and 13 of attempted murder.
His alleged attack — although bearing hallmarks of those carried out by truck-driving Islamic extremists — have been linked to a grudge against women, based upon Facebook posts.
Meanwhile Lam’s ability to de-escalate the tense situation has been praised by law enforcement experts and contrasted widely with frequent high-profile cases in North America, in which officers have been accused of using excessive and lethal force.
Discussing the many people calling his son a hero, Lam praised his son’s training.
“It’s not a matter of a [being a] hero or not, it’s the matter of [being] a policeman, you have to do your own job,” he said.
With AFP
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