A former British policeman who now lives in Mountain View County says the attack by a terrorist in London last week proves it's time for all police in the United Kingdom (U.K.) to be armed.
Richard Nicholson stresses the attacker was an Islamic extremist and as such, his views don't reflect those of regular Muslims.
As of Friday, five people had been killed - including the attacker - and about 40 were injured, some very seriously, as a result of the attack, which occurred in London on March 22.
The attacker, British-born Khalid Masood, drove a 4x4 along Westminster Bridge, weaving to hit as many pedestrians as possible. He then crashed the vehicle into a gate at Parliament and ran into the grounds where he fatally stabbed an unarmed police officer to death before he was shot and killed by other police officers.
Nicholson was a police officer in Staffordshire, England for 15 years before moving to Canada with his wife Lisa. He has been a police officer in Calgary for about nine years now.
Nicholson says he was "shocked" when he first heard of the London attack.
"I think whenever you hear any terrorist attack - regardless of the context - it's always shocking and disheartening as well, especially when people are putting what is supposedly a religious belief behind the terrorism attack," Nicholson told the Albertan.
"To me, especially in cases like this, these people aren't Muslims; these are terrorists and that's always I think important to remember. They don't reflect the belief of the Muslim faith."
Throughout his career with the Staffordshire Police Service, Nicholson wasn't armed. However, he believes incidents like the March 22 attack in London prove it's time for all police in the U.K. to carry firearms.
"There's a long tradition with the police services in the U.K. that they aren't armed (although) there are obviously armed response officers who are readily available for instances like these," Nicholson said.
"However, I think there has to come a time where, although you can remember tradition and respect tradition, there are times when we have to move on.
"Violent attacks like this, they're never going to stop, unfortunately. And I think there comes a time when (if) your officers aren't armed, there's a reality that we're putting - not just the police officers at risk -- but also members of the public by not having armed officers regularly on patrol," he added.
Nicholson carries a service weapon with him as a member of the Calgary Police Service (CPS). During his career with the CPS, he's never had to fire that gun, although he has had to draw it.
"I can think of a particular one where we had a report of a young guy with a knife on a bus. When we arrived, the guy was just getting off the bus so we had our service weapons drawn," he said.
"Obviously, you're off-target and you're giving your verbal commands but you have your gun readily available to use, should the need arise."
Nicholson said his wife and kids worry about his safety, as he does himself.
"It's a thing for every police officer and emergency responder unfortunately," Nicholson said. "Whenever we leave for the day's work, reality tells us we don't know if we're coming back."
"You can never truly switch off. You're always in a high state of readiness and alert."
Nicholson said luckily, he and Lisa don't have relatives or friends in London. Their relatives live three to four hours away from there.
"Obviously you do worry in case any of your friends or family are headed to London for the day, just passing through for whatever reason," he said.
But to their knowledge, none were in London that day.
"Violent attacks like this, they're never going to stop unfortunately. And I think there comes a time when (if) your officers aren't armed, there's a reality that we're putting - not just the police officers at risk -- but also members of the public by not having armed officers regularly on patrol."RICHARD NICHOLSON FORMER U.K. POLICE OFFICER
