OPP charges Simcoe woman with assault with a weapon — for shooting a water gun!

Earlier this month on a hot and humid Saturday summer afternoon, Simcoe, Ont., resident Wendy Washik was playing with the neighbourhood kids. At one point, the 58-year-old educational assistant was chasing one of the kids with a water gun.

Everybody was having jolly good fun in the sun, except, alas, the man at who resides at the house next door to where the neighbourhood barbecue was taking place. And what was initially innocent summertime frolicking turned sour after Washik accidentally squirted the neighbour who was cutting the grass at the time.

Even though Washik profusely apologized, the man was enraged by the “attack.” As well, he proceeded to dial 9-1-1, contacting the Ontario Provincial Police. He apparently claimed he had been physically assaulted. (This was not the first time this man called the cops regarding trivial slights – more on that later.)

Within minutes, an OPP cruiser arrived at the scene. And, incredibly, the cops were not interested in hearing Washik’s side of the story. They instead slapped her with a criminal charge of “assault with a weapon.” Let that sink in for a moment. The “weapon” was a plastic squirt gun; the “ammunition” was H2O. Yet, somehow an accidental contact with water was grounds for an assault with a weapon charge. Keep in mind this so-called crime happened on Sept. 1, not April the first.

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Needless to say, Washik could not believe what had unfolded. Nor could her husband, who happens to be a retired OPP officer himself. And judging by the response on social media, it would appear that virtually nobody currently residing on planet earth can believe this outrageous and egregious nonsense took place either.

It gets worse: the Brant Haldimand Norfolk Catholic District School Board, which employs the 58-year-old Washik, suspended her, perhaps thinking that this otherwise law-abiding citizen might be too much of a “risk” around students until she is proven not guilty.

As well, Washik turned to GoFundMe to raise money for her legal defence costs. Shockingly, apparently due to the “criminality” involved in the Washik matter, GoFundMe recently pulled the plug on her online fundraiser. (Golly, where have we heard that one before?) In the meantime, Washik has since established a GiveSendGo account to facilitate fundraising.

Rebel News recently visited the quiet Simcoe community and spoke to neighbours on and off camera. Not a single person had anything good to say about the so-called “victim”.

The man was routinely described as being belligerent, profane, and vulgar. He allegedly hates it when elementary school-age kids play on the quiet street, and he regularly uses copious quantities of F-bombs to convey his displeasure. He also allegedly hates dogs and has been known to verbally abuse dog walkers passing by his property.

And get this: barely a week goes by in which this man does not call the cops. Incredibly, the OPP dutifully respond; sometimes more than a single cruiser converges upon the street to investigate such “crimes” as a wayward soccer ball landing in his front yard.

Yet, for whatever reason, the cops never charge this man with abusing the 9-1-1 emergency services line. Why would that be? Surely this qualifies as mischief.

We wanted to get the complainant’s side of the story, so we paid a visit to his house. Unlike all the other homes in the neighbourhood, a few things stood out: we counted at least six surveillance cameras. Signs warned of “no dogs” and “no trespassing.” He was also the only house in the neighbourhood with an iron fence erected on the front lawn.

Alas, nobody was home. Neighbours say they haven’t seen the family for several days, and on the porch, there were parcels that had yet to be taken inside. Could it be that given the massive publicity surrounding this surreal “crime,” the man and his family are laying low somewhere other than Simcoe? If so, talk about dishing it out but not being able to take it. And, really, how cowardly is that?

Yet, in the final analysis, the question arises: who do you have more contempt for: a man who appears to be the stereotypical neighbourhood bully and is using law enforcement to aid and abet his bullying? Or those inept Keystone Cops who actually pressed charges against Wendy Washik?

Washik’s first court appearance is scheduled for Tuesday, Sept. 24. Stay tuned…