IRELAND- MAY 26, 2016 #KevinVickers does it again....
BEST QUOTE:
HERO- All across Ireland commemorating 1916 of Brits and Irish- my father's family is old Irish Roman Catholic as is #KevinVickers - and honour at a cemetary matters to us oldies.... God bless our troops and yours... BEST COMMENT: If you watch the video the protester appears and vickers orders him to show his open jacket.
He does this to see if he has a suicide vest.
Then no punches are thrown but Vickers puts himself between the protester and the dignitaries and pushes him away to the police.
The police arrest and the scene is done.
This is a great example of personal protection.
God bless Ireland .....
Pictures:
Canadian ambassador tackles protester at 1916 ceremony
Kevin
Vickers made headlines across the globe in 2014 when he intervened during a
terror attack at the Canadian parliament.
----------------
JANUARY 2015
Newsmaker of the day: Kevin
Vickers becomes our man in Ireland
Newsmakers, Jan. 8: Kevin Vickers becomes an
ambassador
January
8, 2015
Celebrated
as a hero in the wake of the shooting in Ottawa on Oct. 22, Kevin Vickers became a symbol of resilience and the
institutional significance of Parliament. Now he will be literally and
officially anointed a representative of this country.
On
Thursday, Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced that Vickers will be Canada’s next ambassador to
Ireland. “Kevin Vickers has shown profound leadership and dedication to
the security of Canada and its national institutions,” the Prime Minister said
in a released statement. “His extensive experience working with Parliament, as
well as his bravery and integrity, will serve to deepen close bilateral
relations between Canada and Ireland in the years ahead.”
Vickers,
a former RCMP officer, was just the ninth full-time sergeant-at-arms in Canadian history
(current House of Commons clerk Audrey O’Brien held the role on an interim
basis before Vickers’ appointment).
In a
statement, House of Commons Speaker Andrew Scheer offered “full support” to
Vickers’s move, while expressing some sadness at seeing him go. “Kevin
Vickers has built a remarkable security team that does us proud each and every
day,” Scheer said. “His actions, and the bravery displayed by his entire
security team this past October, will never be forgotten. He has forged personal
connections with many parliamentarians, and so while this news is welcomed as
an excellent recognition of his skills and abilities, we are somewhat sad to
see him leave.”
Pat
McDonell, the deputy sergeant-at-arms and director general of protective services
for the House of Commons, will assume Vickers’s security and ceremonial duties
on an interim basis—it will presumably then be McDonell who assumes the traditional accoutrements and carries in the ceremonial mace when the House of Commons reconvenes later
this month.
MPs and
the Irish government offered their congratulations as well, while
Vickers released a statement to say that, “As a Canadian with family on both
sides hailing from Ireland, there could be no greater honour. I am humbled by
the invitation to serve my country in this way.”
“However,
I am also saddened to be leaving my colleagues and friends on Parliament Hill,”
he added. “It has been an honour to serve as Sergeant-at-Arms and to work with
such dedicated individuals serving both Houses of Parliament. I will cherish
the time I have spent here.”
Vickers
also thanked “all Canadians for their support in the last few months.” “You
have my word that I will do my best to represent you in Ireland with pride and
dignity,” he said.
If Mr.
Vickers’ days of carrying the mace are thus over, his days of carrying the
banner continue.
-------------
NAME: Kevin
VickersOCCUPATION: Sergeant-at-arms
By now, the only thing we don’t know about Kevin Vickers is maybe this: Who plays him in the movie?
For this impassive-looking New Brunswicker always seemed more Downton Abbey than Bourne Identity marching into the House of Commons in his black robes and hat and, as sergeant-at-arms, carrying his ceremonial gold mace. Then a deeply disturbed addict and drifter named Michael Zehaf-Bibeau stormed Parliament Hill. And a wide-shouldered man whose only known indulgence was a Harley with a SGTATRMS licence plate showed the world what grace under fire really looks like.
At this point, do we even have to recount the scene? The way Vickers, sitting in his office, picked up his sidearm when he heard the gunshots in the Hall of Honour inside Parliament. How he hid behind a pillar a few feet away from Zehaf-Bibeau. How, when the moment came, Vickers threw his 58-year-old body on the floor, turning as he fell, firing his semi-automatic pistol like Bond in Skyfall.
And then how moments later, Vickers walked into the caucus room where the prime minister and his MPs had been barricaded, strode to a microphone and, in words that couldn’t have been put better by the highest-paid Hollywood screenwriter, said: “I engaged the suspect and the suspect is deceased.”
The relieved politicians applauded. So did the world. The Irish tried to claim him as their own. Britain’s Telegraph newspaper called him a national hero. So did NBC television. “The hell with Bruce Willis,” crowed American satirist Stephen Colbert. “Just look at that magnificent bastard.”
Magnificent he was. But it can be argued that another reason Vickers captivated the world with his heroism is that maybe he’s so — excuse me, eh — Canadian. We mean this in the best way possible.
It’s hard to really know where to start: with his Irish immigrant small-town New Brunswick roots and his kinfolk of dairy farmers and nurses and keep-the-order law enforcement-types (according to newspaper reports, one uncle was a police chief, another cousin an officer and Kevin’s son is a constable in Vickers’ hometown of Miramichi, N.B.). Or the fact that his Dudley Do-Right RCMP career spanned not just the small Northern Canada communities of Robert Service, but also Alberta’s Big Sky Country and the nation’s capital.
Don’t get us wrong: this Mountie usually got his man. According to a government statement announcing his appointment in 2006, Vickers worked on homicide investigations and international drug smuggling cases — the United States Drug Enforcement Agency has recognized him for his “outstanding contribution to drug enforcement” — as well as the Krever inquiry into Canada’s tainted blood supply during the mid-1990s.
In true Canadian fashion, he was never a shoot-first, ask-questions-later Dirty Harry. Journalists say that he won the respect of Acadian and First Nations communities throughout New Brunswick for his calm diplomacy in tense situations while serving there. In fact, according to one of his brothers, Vickers never fired a gun during his 29 years on the job with the RCMP.
So it’s not remotely surprising that when taking over as parliamentary sergeant-at-arms, he told the Saint John Telegraph-Journal that it made him feel good to see families playing Frisbee on the expanse of lawn on Parliament Hill. Fences, he thought, should never surround the seat of Canada’s government. “In America, security trumps all,” he said. “I don’t think that’s the Canadian way.”
Truthfully, could the Canadian way be more perfectly embodied than by a guy with the height and girth of an NHL enforcer who possesses such an inclusive — dare we say Canadian — world view that he received a special award from the World Sikh Organization of Canada in 2011 after refusing to ban kirpans, the ceremonial daggers carried by baptized Sikhs, in the House of Commons?
We at Herald Magazine seriously doubt it. That’s why Vickers — a man so modest that he has turned down interview requests from every media outlet, including this one, following his deed of derring-do — was a no-brainer for our first-ever Honour Roll.
The man, after all, saved the day. Vickers made Stephen Colbert apologize to every last one of us Canadians. Then like the best kind of hero, he just turned around and went back to work.
- By John DeMont
Kevin
Vickers, the reluctant hero
Saluted
by leaders at home and abroad, Kevin Vickers has become a meaningful symbol of
strength and resilience
Aaron
Wherry November 28, 2014
Kevin
Vickers. (Sean Kilpatrick/The Canadian Press)
The
title of sergeant-at-arms is said by one account to date to the late 12th
century, when, during the Crusades, the king of France decided he needed a special
security detail in the Holy Land. According to The Officers of the Commons, a
history compiled by Philip Marsden, a former official in the British House,
these sergeants were “encased from head to foot in armour” and each “carried a
decorated battle-mace—a useful weapon for close-fighting on horseback, and one
which probably owed much of its popularity to the fact that it was used with
devastating effect by the redoubtable Saracen cavalry.”
The
general concept of the sergeant seems to have been brought to England by the
Normans. By 1278, Edward I had a crew of 20 sergeants-at-arms. In 1415, one
such sergeant was assigned to the House of Commons—seemingly as an enforcer for
the burgeoning powers of parliamentary privilege, including the protection of its
members and the powers of arrest and imprisonment.
Six
hundred years of progress later, it was possible, at least before Oct. 22 of
this year, to forget that Kevin Vickers, our sergeant-at-arms, was something
other than a man in a fancy hat with an ornate golden mace on his shoulder who
paraded each day for the amusement of tourists through the Hall of Honour to
the House, along with the rest of the Speaker’s quaintly dressed retinue.
Then
a madman with a rifle came up Parliament Hill, under the Peace Tower and into
Centre Block.
It
is not that our capital had been spared any trauma up until this October. Just
a year after Confederation, Thomas D’Arcy McGee, a father of Confederation and
MP, was assassinated a block from the Hill. The building that contains our
House of Commons and Senate burned to the ground in 1916. In 1966, a madman
with a load of dynamite tried to bomb the legislature (he blew himself up in
the bathroom instead). And in 1989, a madman with a revolver hijacked a bus,
drove it up onto the lawn and proceeded to hold its passengers hostage for five
hours.
But
still, Oct. 22 might now be recorded as the most horrifying in our Parliament’s
history.
Related
reading: Bearing witness: The Ottawa shooting, in the words of those who were
there
As
of this writing, it is not yet known definitively who fired the shot that
killed Michael Zehaf-Bibeau. One account has Kevin Vickers diving around a
pillar to fire away at the assailant. Const. Samearn Son, on duty at the door
of Centre Block, was wounded in a scuffle with Zehaf-Bibeau. House of Commons guard
Alain Gervais put himself in front of a door to protect the NDP caucus. Various
officers pursued Zehaf-Bibeau and countless others committed acts of heroism
that day—not least those who ran to Cpl. Nathan Cirillo at the National War
Memorial and tried to save his life.
No
one individual got us through that day or saved however many more lives might
have been lost. But it was Vickers who was immediately identified and became
the stuff of worldwide headlines. The Washington Post dubbed him “Canada’s new
national hero.” French President François Hollande saluted his courage, and he
was honoured by the Knesset, Israel’s parliament. He emerged as the face of
resistance and courage. In him we found a focal point and a meaningful symbol
of strength and resilience and purpose.
Related
reading: Uncovering a killer: Addict, drifter, walking contradiction
The
roar that went up when Vickers entered the House of Commons the next day might
long echo in the ears of everyone who was there. There he was again with the
mace, the ceremonial symbol of the House’s authority, without which it cannot
officially function. In full dress, he wears a black tailcoat and white
stiff-wing collar with white tabs and an Esses collar, a chain of 74 silver
S-shaped links that was crafted in 1859 (following a design, according to
Parliament’s website, that dates to the 14th century as a symbol of loyalty or
office). At his side he carries a sword. (The official guide to practice and
procedure notes an account of the sergeant-at-arms at the old Parliament
buildings in Montreal drawing his sword in an attempt to protect the mace from
rioters in 1849.)
When
the applause had finally quieted, Vickers took his seat at the far end of the
chamber. For all the ceremonial trappings, he has real authority: Vickers is
responsible for the security and order of the parliamentary precinct and
oversees the House of Commons security services team. Before taking up the role
in 2006, he served for 29 years with the RCMP. And we now know he has a gun.
He
was stoic, in the House, perhaps blinking away tears. He has not yet granted a
full interview about that day. But when the House of Commons was back in
session, Vickers was there in the centre aisle. There to do his duty and accept
a procession of hugs and handshakes.
The
manners of the Westminster system can seem obscure—the business of each day
conducted under a labyrinth of rules, procedures and expectations that can make
the House of Commons seem out of place at times and even silly. But it is not
without purpose. It is what has been passed on to us through the centuries,
bestowed for the purposes of governing ourselves, ours to maintain and protect.
For
all the oddity of the place and the cynicism that often surrounds it, for all
the pomp and ceremony, Kevin Vickers and that day might’ve brought us back, if
even just subconsciously, to the significance and importance of the
institution. A reminder that this place on the Hill is worth protecting.
-----------
.jpg)
BEST
COMMENT:
When
tragedy strikes, the ability to laugh and smile is a rare thing. As a Canadian,
I understand this is a comedy show and I am an avid fan of Stephen Colbert (and
Jon Stewart for that matter). I felt that this was a good hearted, well
intentioned skit by Colbert. I laughed and found it entertaining. And though
some may not see much sincerity behind his words or expression, I believe
Colbert's not the man to cause disrespect to my nation. I felt he generally was
being sincere in sharing his condolences and he did it in a way that he knows
best, through comedy. So, because of that, I say thank you Stephen. On behalf
of Canadians we accept your hilarious and quirky condolences. Much respect to
you and all Americans from your neighbors up in the Great White North.
Published
on Oct 30, 2014
Stephen
Colbert celebrates Kevin Vickers: “To hell with Bruce Willis!” Stephen Colbert
- Ottawa Shooting - Sings National Antherm "O Canada" - 10/29/2014...
Kevin
Vickers Changes Stephen Colbert's Mind About Canada (VIDEO)
-------------
Kevin Vickers: a Canadian hero
"It was Kevin being Kevin," say proud family after sergeant-at-arms shoots suspected jihadist who opened fire inside Canadian parliament
Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers in the Hall of Honour on Parliament Hill in
Ottawa Photo: REUTERS
10:56PM BST
22 Oct 2014
Kevin Vickers, 58, has already been hailed a Canadian national hero after
shooting dead the gunman
who brought terror to the country's parliament building. After a long career as a Mountie - protecting the Queen and Prince Andrew during royal visits - and eight years as House of Commons Sergeant, relatives said he was known for his no-nonsense approach to protecting parliament.
Minutes after the violent episode unfolded he telephoned his family home in New Brunswick to tell his mother, a retired nurse, what had happened.
His cousin Keith told CBS News: "It's Kevin being Kevin.
"Hes a very intelligent and responsible person. He's a people person-type fellow, too, but you don't want to mess with him.
23 Oct 2014
"All the boys, the local
guys, they'll be quite proud to hear he did what he did." He spent 29 years with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police rising to the rank of chief superintendent. His distinguished career - with a string of awards - and seniority meant he was frequently the public face of the police service in New Brunswick.
He then served as director of security operations for the House of Commons before becoming Sergeant-at-Arms, a role dripping in history that means not only is he responsible for keeping parliamentarians safe but he also has the ceremonial duty of carrying the mace into the chamber before each sitting.
Peter McKay, Canada's justice minister, praised him on Twitter.
To all in Ottawa, stay safe & strong. Thank God for Sgt at Arms Kevin Vickers & our Cdn security forces. True heroes #cndpoli
Standing ovation for Canadian hero Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers
Date
·
David Crary and
Jennifer Peltz
Canadian
lawmakers gave Sergeat-at-Arms Kevin Vickers a standing ovation for fatally
shooting a gunman who had entered the Parliament building.
Ceremonial
role: Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers carries the mace through the Hall of
Honour during the Speakers parade in the House of Commons in Ottawa. Photo: AP
Ottawa,
Ontario: The standing ovation began even before
Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers entered the Parliament chamber in his black
robe, carrying the golden ceremonial mace on his right shoulder.
For more than two
minutes, the lawmakers applauded and pounded their desks on Thursday for the
white-haired former Mountie, hailed as a hero for shooting the gunman who had
stormed Canada's seat of power just a day earlier.
At first
expressionless and motionless, the 58-year-old Vickers eventually responded to
the ovation with a few slight nods of his head, his lips quivering with
emotion.
Hailed
as hero: Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers is applauded in the House of Commons in
Ottawa. Photo: Reuters
Later
in the session, Prime Minster Stephen Harper lauded Mr Vickers.
"I would be very
remiss if I did not conclude in acknowledging specifically the work of the
security forces here on Parliament and the great work of our
sergeant-at-arms," he said to more cheers and applause from the members.
Mr Harper then went
over to shake Mr Vickers' hand.
PM's
praise: Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper speaks with Sergeant-at-Arms
Kevin Vickers. Photo: AP
"I
am very touched by the attention directed at me following yesterday's
events," Mr Vickers said in a statement.
"However, I have
the support of a remarkable security team," he added. "Yesterday,
during extraordinary circumstances, security personnel demonstrated
professionalism and courage. I am grateful and proud to be part of this
team."
He said he would have
no further immediate comment on the incident while an investigation unfolded.
The gunman who
invaded Parliament, identified as petty criminal Michael Zehaf-Bibeau, had been
seen by witnesses minutes earlier, fatally shooting a soldier posted at the
nearby National War Memorial.
As shots rang out in
the Parliament building, people fled the complex by scrambling down scaffolding
erected for renovations, while others took cover inside as police with rifles
and body armour took up positions outside and cordoned off the normally
bustling streets around Parliament.
Video broadcast on
Thursday showed Mr Vickers moments after the gunfire, walking down a corridor
in the Parliament building with a handgun in his right hand.
In his statement, Mr
Vickers said one of the security officers on duty with the House of Commons,
Constable Samearn Son, suffered a gunshot wound to the leg but was expected to
make a full recovery.
Praise for Mr Vickers
was swift and widespread.
"Thank God for
Sgt at Arms Kevin Vickers & our Cdn security forces. True heroes."
tweeted Justice Minister Peter MacKay.
Mr Vickers, whose
background includes providing security for visiting members of Britain's royal
family, became sergeant-at-arms in the House of Commons eight years ago after a
varied security career. He spent nearly 30 years with the Royal Canadian
Mounted Police, reaching the rank of chief superintendent.
AP
Well done Canada Parliament Sgt At Arms Kevin Vickers #hero
Well done Canada Parliament Sgt At Arms Kevin Vickers #hero VIDEO@rusnivek
http://whereisrusnivek.com/2014/10/23/well-done-canada-parliament-sgt-at-arms-kevin-vickers-hero/
------------------------------
Sergeant-at-arms hailed as
Canadian hero shows role is not just ceremonial
·
Kevin
Vickers, 56, believed to have shot Ottawa gunman
·
Advocated
‘no walls around Canada’s parliamentary buildings’
The sergeant-at-arms of Canada's
parliament, Kevin Vickers, in his ceremonial robes. Photograph: Chris Wattie/Reuters The role’s ceremonial element has resulted in something of a public profile for Vickers – in black robes, he carries a ceremonial gold mace into the House of Commons before every sitting. But he also has very real powers in relation to controlling access to the building.
A former officer in the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP), where he led high-profile investigations relating to murder and drug importations, Vickers, 54, has held the post since 2006.
On his LinkedIn page, Vickers, from Newcastle in New Brunswick, lists his functions in his role as including overseeing security, food services, transportation, printing and mail servcies with a team of 1,000 employees.
He spoke publicly last year of how he viewed Canada and his role after he was honoured by Sikhs when he moved to ensure that the community’s sacred kirpan dagger was allowed in Canada’s legislature in the face of a motion by Quebec nationalists calling for its prohibition.
“I see your wearing of the kirpan, especially in our parliamentary buildings, as exactly that, respecting your dignity,” he told members of the World Sikh Organization of Canada.
“But just as the kirpan issue came before us last winter, we are reminded how vigilant we must be to not only defend but promote the practices, cultures and religions of all peoples.
“I am going to tolerate you wearing the kirpan within the Parliamentary Precinct. No. As head of security, I am going to accept and embrace your symbol of faith within the Parliamentary Precinct,” he said.
He also recalled what he said during his interview for his job when he was asked what he wanted from it, saying: “I told them that if they made me their sergeant-at-arms, there would be no walls built around Canada’s parliamentary buildings”.
- thecryptosphere.com/2014/10/28/kevin-
vickers-the-quiet... Cached
Home › BAMF › Kevin Vickers, Canadian badass and a new ... Vickers is from Miramichi, New Brunswick. A province where English meets French meets First Nations ...
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‘Thank God’ for Kevin Vickers, Canada’s new national hero
No law enforcement agency has yet officially confirmed that Kevin Vickers, sergeant-at-arms of the Canadian Parliament, took out the man who opened fire in the halls of the capitol in Ottawa Wednesday after killing a soldier. Nor has Vickers commented on his actions.
However, in multiple news reports, Vickers, 58, is already being hailed as a national hero who eyewitnesses say prevented a massacre that would have been nothing short of a national catastrophe.
Canadian House of Commons Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers received a standing
ovation as he entered Thursday’s session of Parliament. Vickers reportedly shot
the attacker who killed a Canadian soldier before opening fire in the halls of
the capitol. (AP)
By all accounts, the white-haired grandfather, a decorated veteran of the
Royal Canadian Mounted Police, kept cool amid the chaos as dozens of bullets
flew in the corridors, went to his office, retrieved his weapon and with a firm
hand and a steely eye shot a killer before he could kill again. Vickers, who is
6 feet 4 inches tall, then walked away, gun-in hand, having “taken care of
business,” as one news outlet put it.And then he called his mother to say he was safe.
He is Canada’s “Sully,” Chesley Sullenberger, the hero pilot of the “Miracle on the Hudson” in 2009.
“Thank God for … Kevin Vickers” and Canadian security forces, Justice Minister Peter MacKay wrote on Twitter. “True heroes.”
Members of the Canadian Parliament “owe their safety, even lives, to Sergeant at Arms Kevin Vickers who shot attacker just outside the MPs’ caucus rooms,” tweeted Craig Scott, who represents Toronto-Danforth.
Vickers is no stranger to guarding Canada’s political VIPs. As the CBC reported, he has served the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) for almost three decades, including a stint as director of security operations for the House of Commons before his appointment as sergeant-at-arms. He’s also done security for Queen Elizabeth and Prince Andrew.
With the black robes, black hat and ceremonial sword he wears to Parliament openings, Vickers gives the appearance of a man from another time and place. But he’s a thoroughly modern policeman. He’s worked on homicide investigations, drug-smuggling operations and oversaw Canada’s investigation into the tainted Red Cross blood supply during the 1980s that infected thousands with hepatitis C and HIV.
“Vickers brought with him a reputation for soft-spoken diplomacy,” said the Toronto Star. He “found it comforting to see fathers and sons tossing Frisbees on the lawn of Parliament Hill. He also spoke of how he didn’t want to see fences around Canada’s Parliament.”
“In America, security trumps all,” he told the newspaper. “I don’t think that’s the Canadian way.”
Yet when the time came, he was deadly serious.
“It’s so much in his character to take charge of something and do what has to be done,” former New Brunswick lieutenant governor Marilyn Trenholme Counsell, whom Vickers served as an aide, told CBC. “He is fearless in the face of a challenge. It didn’t surprise me that he acted.”
“I just couldn’t be prouder of him right now,” his brother John Vickers told the CBC, describing a man who has “always been committed to service, people and country.” It may seem heroic, he said, but “it’s Kevin being Kevin.”
Though perhaps not thought of as a prime target for terrorists, Canada remains vulnerable to groups inspired by al-Qaeda, according to the Canadian Security Intelligence Service. Vickers was ready.
“He actually did mock-up scenarios for the personnel … very much like what happened today,” Pierre-Yves Bourduas, former RCMP deputy commissioner, told CBC. “Knowing Kevin the way I do, he is very troubled by this chain of events.”
A soldier and a gunman were killed, and police scoured downtown Ottawa for
possible additional shooters on Wednesday. (Thomas Johnson/The Washington Post)
But Vickers’s work extends beyond shooting back when bad guys shoot first.
He started with the Mounties as a constable in the Northwest Territories, then
moved up the ranks in Alberta and Ottawa before retiring and becoming
sergeant-at-arms.During his career, he took a special interest in the sex trade, testifying before Parliament about its evils.
“I have personally investigated in the vicinity of a dozen deaths of young girls in the area of Calgary,” he told Parliament in 2005. “In a number of those cases, when you’re talking about exploitation, the girls were on the street having been hooked on and addicted to cocaine. Again, when you’re talking about legalization, from my own personal experience, I don’t think you’d ever correct the situation.”
When Parliament tried to ban the kirpan — the Sikh ceremonial dagger — in 2011, he defended the minority group.
“I see your wearing of the kirpan, especially in our Parliamentary buildings, as exactly that, respecting your dignity,” he said last year. “But just as the kirpan issue came before us last winter, we are reminded how vigilant we must be to not only defend but promote the practices, cultures and religions of all peoples.”
And he stood up for the rights of the little guy — literally. According to the Globe and Mail, he bumped a news conference featuring big-name politicos to accommodate a student tour of the House of Commons.
“The kids from Moose Jaw,” he said, as the Globe and Mail reported, “who saved their pennies all year must have the tour that they deserve.”
Still, compassion, open-mindedness and a soft spot for children don’t seem to have prevented Vickers from using deadly force against alleged shooter Michael Zehaf-Bibeau.
Vickers is “a very intelligent and responsible person,” his cousin Keith Vickers told CBC. “He’s a people person-type fellow, too, but you don’t want to mess with him.”
After such a crisis, some would have blabbed to reporters or otherwise reveled in the spotlight. According to a CBC reporter, Vickers called home.
“His niece Erin,” reported the Ottawa Sun, “says her uncle is a calm, gentle man — but someone who handles pressure with utmost calm. ‘He’s a thoughtful and considerate person — he’s halfway to a saint in my opinion,’ she said. ‘He’s a very capable human being.’”
www.bbc.co.uk/news/blogs-
Oct 23, 2014 · ... Kevin Vickers hailed as Canadian
hero ... who officials say opened fire in Canada's parliament
minutes ... Thank God for Sgt at Arms Kevin Vickers ...
Oct 24, 2014 · The Canadian parliament's
58-year-old head of ... Canada's parliament ... Post print
edition as Parliament's sergeant-at-arms hailed a hero
for ...
www.smh.com.au › World
How Canadian Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers
killed ... Hailed as a hero: Sergeant-at-Arms Kevin Vickers.
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www.theepochtimes.com/n3/1034708-kevin-
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Hero of Ottawa shooting, Kevin Vickers, is a proud Irish Canadian
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Kevin Vickers, who took down the gunman in Canada's House,
is a humble and upstanding man, proud of his Irish roots. Photo by: Getty
Kevin Vickers, the sergeant-at-arms for the Canadian House of Commons who
ended gunman Michael Zehaf-Bibeau’s attack on Ottawa’s Parliament Hill, is a
proud Irish Canadian.Speaking yesterday from Ottawa, Ireland’s Ambassador to Canada Dr. Ray Bassett described Vickers as “a real old fashioned cop from a large Irish Catholic family.”
He called him “a great friend to the embassy and to Ireland, and a hell of a decent guy,” always happy to take Irish visitors to Ottawa on a tour of the parliament buildings, pointing out shamrock engravings and other details anyone else might skip over.
Vickers, 58, is being hailed around the world for his heroic actions.
The video below, from CBC news, shows him walking through Commons shortly after Zehaf-Bibeau was shot, gun still in hand. Contrary to initial reports, police now believe that Zehaf-Bibbeau, a self-radicalized convert to Islam, acted alone. He killed one person, Corporal Nathan Cirillo, an army reservist and father in his mid-20s.
Officials who were trapped inside the House of Commons after shots rang out on Wednesday immediately took to Twitter to thank Vickers for saving their lives.
On Thursday morning, as the parliament reconvened, Vickers received a standing ovation that lasted for two-and-a-half minutes. He was visibly moved by the applause.
Later, Prime Minister Stephen Harper concluded his speech by thanking Vickers for his bravery and crossing the room to shake his hand.
Vickers is originally from Miramichi, New Brunswick, an area with deep Irish roots. The city of Miramichi, some 600 miles across the country from Ottawa, calls itself “Canada’s Irish Capital,” and is home each year to Canada’s Irish Festival.
Kevin’s cousin, Keith Vickers, president of the Irish Canadian Cultural Association of New Brunswick, told IrishCentral that their ancestors arrived in Canada after fleeing hunger-stricken Ireland.
“Four Vickers brothers came over here in 1852 after the Famine and we filtered down from there,” he said. The family believes the Vickers came from the Wicklow mountains and possibly from Vicarstown in Co. Laois.
Keith grew up across the street from Kevin and his four siblings – three brothers and one older sister. He described hearing the news of the attack in Ottawa as an emotional rollercoaster.
“We didn't really know what was going on. I heard there was a soldier shot at the War Memorial, God love him, he passed away. I was listening to the radio when they said a gunman had run in to the House. I thought he might be after the Prime Minister, I thought of Kevin being there, and then I heard them say his name. I was afraid he’d been shot too, but within the next minute they explained what he’d done.
According to his cousin, Kevin exchanged fire with the gunman from nearby his office, ran out of bullets, ran back in to re-load, and then finally stopped him.
He said that the Vickers family, and his hometown of Miramichi are immensely proud of Kevin but not at all surprised by his bravery and quick thinking.
“He’d never be the first person to pull a gun, but he’d do it when it necessary,” he said.
“He’s always been responsible, he has great instincts. Whenever there was some kind of event going on, most people would take off or stand there and watch, but he would ascertain the situation and quell it.”
Police work runs in the Vickers family. An uncle was a police chief, another cousin is an officer, and Kevin’s son, Andrew, is a constable in Miramichi.
As sergeant-at-arms of Ottawa’s Parliament Hill, Vickers is responsible for overseeing the security of the parliament and the safety of those who work there. At the start of each session he carries a ceremonial mace into the Commons and sits in the chamber for the duration.
He was named to the role in 2006 after a decorated career in security and 29 years with the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP). Vickers never shot anyone during his time with the RCMP, his cousin said.
According to his bio, Vickers provided security for VIPs including Her Majesty The Queen and His Royal Highness, Prince Andrew. He also served as an Aide-de-Camp for the Lieutenant Governor of New Brunswick. He has received a number of honors, including the Queen's Jubilee Medal and the Canada 125 Medal, and has been recognized by the U.S. Drug Enforcement Agency for his "Outstanding Contribution to Drug Enforcement".
He is still remembered for his smart, compassionate and effective work as a police inspector, assigned to some of Canada’s most high profile and delicate cases, including homicides, national criminal investigations, international drug importations and a national investigation into the safety of Canada's blood supply. Residents of Burnt Church, the fishing town where Vickers was sent to help diffuse escalating tension between indigenous and non-native fishermen in 2000, recall his willingness to listen and to understand the situation.
“The inspector was a real community man,” Bobby Sylliboy, a longtime band constable with the Burnt Church First Nation told the National Post. “People around here, let me tell you, they hold him in the highest regard. He was this 6-foot-3, non-native guy, coming to our reserve — and even coming to our Christmas vigils. He was hard to miss. He was a Down East guy, just a guy from the Miramichi. But to us, he was the chief.”
As the RCMP lead in the early development of its "Bias Free Policing" policies, Vickers worked extensively reaching out to the leadership of Canada's Muslim community.
He has been a voice for religious and cultural freedom. In 2011, after the Quebec National Assembly banned individuals of the Sikh faith from wearing kirpans, the ceremonial dagger carried by baptized Sikhs, Vickers ensured that they would not be prohibited in the House of Commons. For this he was honored by the World Sikh Organization of Canada.
In his speech, covered by the Globe and Mail, Vickers said that he learned to respect and appreciate other cultures from his father, who often invited students studying abroad from developing countries to join the family for dinner.
He stressed that Canada had to be vigilant “not only defend but promote the practices, cultures and religions of all peoples,” to accept rather than merely tolerate.
"Am I going to tolerate you wearing the kirpan within the Parliamentary Precinct?” he asked. “No. As head of security, I am going to accept and embrace your symbol of faith within the Parliamentary Precinct.”
"As we go forward, we should ask ourselves what Canada should be when it grows up. We have a long way to go before reaching adulthood,” he said. The seizure of the kirpans at the Quebec legislature last winter demonstrates the challenges that lay before us as we continue on this journey of sewing together the fabric of our nation with the thread of multiculturalism. Perhaps it would be beneficial for our country, as a nation, to define its core values. What are the core values of Canada, what makes up the soul and heart of our nation?"
With his long list of achievements, wise outlook and now his key role in preventing the attack on Canada’s Parliament from causing further tragedy, Vickers is a national hero for Canada.
But those who know him say he is far too humble to agree.
“Everyone’s calling him a hero, but Kevin doesn’t think like that,” Keith Vickers said.
“To him, he was just doing his job.”
Canadian broadcaster Rex Murphy praised Vickers for his bravery.
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