An Ontario woman has been charged by police with assault with a weapon after accidentally spraying her neighbour with a water gun during a backyard get-together.
Wendy Washik, a 58-year-old educational assistant from Simcoe, Ont. was playing with some children at a backyard barbecue over the Labour Day weekend when the “incident” occurred.
“I’ve cried myself to sleep many nights,” Washik told CTV News on Tuesday. “Because I love kids and work with kids, I asked [one] if he had any water guns and he said: ‘Yeah.’”
While playing with the water guns, Washik chased a child from the backyard to the front of the home when she accidentally sprayed a neighbour.
“I was trying to figure out how the water gun was working. It’s not like I play with water guns at my age,” she said. “I was going through the gate and it accidentally hit the neighbour that was maybe three feet away, [who was] cutting his grass.”
Once Washik saw what had happened, she tried to apologize.
However, the neighbour called a Norfolk County officer who arrived on the “scene” at Woodway Trail, according to Ontario Provincial Police.
Washik said the officer refused to hear her side of the story.
“They told my husband to ‘bring your wife out of the backyard,’ and that I’m being charged with assault with a weapon,” she said. “They didn’t ask me one single question.”
She was then taken into custody and was later put on leave as an educational assistant by her school board.
“It just blows my mind that this has happened to me,” she added. “The mental and financial stress that has been put on my family, my children and my husband, is not right and is not fair.”
The man who called the police has a history of reporting very minor disputes, neighbours told CTV News.
“He’s had numerous issues on the street, [with] lots of neighbours,” explained Kirk Stewart. “Police called on them and they’re constantly here.”
“It’s been a recurring issue on the street, police being at his house for very, very minor issues,” added neighbour Michael MacConnachie. “We all get along fine, we’re not calling the police on our other neighbours. It’s always the one individual who’s calling the police.”
The locals on Woodway Trail said they feel the police are being weaponized against them at the hands of the neighbour, who currently remains anonymous.
Norfolk County OPP responded to this criticism by saying the department is “committed to maintaining high standards in our investigative work.”
However, it would not comment on the water gun altercation as the investigation remains ongoing
“Regarding the charge that was laid, details about the weapon involved are considered part of the investigation and are not generally shared with the public,” said Norfolk County OPP in a statement.
“We want to assure the community that every case is thoroughly investigated to ensure it is handled appropriately and brought to resolution,” the statement continued. “We are committed to maintaining high standards in our investigative work, regardless of how the public may perceive the allocation of resources. Our focus remains on doing our job effectively, ensuring that each case receives the attention it deserves, regardless of public perception.”
Washik has retained a lawyer and her daughter launched a GoFundMe to help cover the family’s legal expenses.
The family said it hopes the situation will be resolved before ending up in court.