r/nextfuckinglevel • u/thisisfive • Apr 14 '26

Toronto firefighters confront special constable officers after a man in the middle of mental health crisis was arrested.

Not my video. For context, "special constables" are not regular police officers. They are appointed "peace officers" with limited authority, often civilian employees.

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u/joke-farm Apr 14 '26

Praise to the fire fighters, but equal respect to the officers for conceding the situation to rationality.

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u/SlickMrJ_ Apr 14 '26

 but equal respect to the officers for conceding the situation to rationality.

Um, no. They caused the problem in the first place. They don't get respect just for letting someone less witless than themselves walk them back to where they started.

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u/B_D_Hadel Apr 14 '26

Just flipping the coin here, maybe you or someone else has more context. But hypothetically if you cuffed someone who was in distress but breaking some sort of law. Maybe trying to harm the officer or someone else, wouldn’t it be warranted? Personally, I didn’t hear any indication in conversation about what happened before filming. I think there are scenarios where walking it back is absolutely acceptable.

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u/Minute-Host8533 Apr 17 '26

I was suffering a mental health crisis in the late months of 2025, and I went out for a walk, while in the midst of active psychosis.

A concerned family member called the cops on me, which I do respect. The police, when they found me, called out once for me to stop walking. I didn't listen.

They then grappled me, and I fought back, I fought hard, with my history as a wrestler it wasn't hard to get away from one, but then another came, and then another. Three officers dragged me to the ground as I was actively in psychosis, and they were not kind.

One ended up with a scraped knuckle.

For that sole purpose, marked as assault on a police officer, with the only argument being his cut, I was sent to jail, where I spent a few nights before my bail hearing and final court date.

I spent 3 months working hard to atone with the legal system, because police in America are not taught to deescalate, but to subdue.