A Hamilton, Ont., Canadian Armed Forces member who was assaulted while supervising a Remembrance Day poppy campaign on Nov. 1 has spoken about the incident publicly for the first time, saying he was slammed into a concrete pillar and lost the use of his legs immediately.
According to Hamilton Police, Capt. Kenneth Kunkel was supervising cadets outside a restaurant on Nov. 1 when two male youths allegedly approached and “blew a loud air horn directly into their ears.” Police said Kunkel sustained the injuries when he was assaulted by one of the youths and a woman who had not initially been involved in the dispute.
Kunkel, 59, described the incident in a statement shared on social media by Conservative MP Ned Kuruc on Nov. 13.
“The instant this happened, I immediately lost the use of my legs. My legs buckled beneath me and I collapsed,” he said. “While I was lying on the ground helpless, the young male proceeded to violently punch me directly in the face numerous times.”
Kunkel said he remained hospitalized and currently paralyzed from the waist down, is in continual pain, and requires medication. Doctors have told him he will need “many months of rehabilitation therapy.”
Police have charged a 12-year-old with assault and aggravated assault and a 48-year-old woman with aggravated assault in connection with Kunkel’s injuries.
Kunkel said he wanted to clarify some details from the police report.
He said he had been supervising cadets stationed outside four stores during the poppy campaign and was parked in the middle of a parking lot so he could see them all. He was wearing his officer’s uniform.
Kunkel said one cadet phoned him to report that a young male had blasted an air horn into her ear, causing her to worry about possible hearing damage. She said the young male placed the air horn in his bag and ran away. The cadet described the male, allowing Kunkel to locate him in a restaurant, where he found him eating directly from a buffet table.
“I approached him and told him that he assaulted one of my cadets that we need to go to the front of the restaurant and contact the police,” Kunkel said.
“He immediately tried to run away from me. I grabbed his backpack to secure the weapon and started walking towards the front of the restaurant, asking loudly to the … staff to phone the police immediately.”
Kunkel said the youth threw punches as they walked toward the front, forcing him to defend himself. An adult woman then confronted him, saying the young male “was just a kid.” Kunkel said he explained what had happened and said police were needed.
“While my attention was distracted by this adult female, the young male violently grabbed the lanyard around my neck that was holding my car key, ripping the lanyard off my neck,” he said.
Kunkel said he tried to retrieve his key, but while his attention was on the young male, the woman “blindsided” him, “forcefully slamming” him into a concrete pillar, with his spine taking “all the impact directly.”
Kunkel said neither the woman nor the youth stayed to speak with police, while paramedics took Kunkel to hospital for spinal surgery and treatment for his swollen face.
He said doctors currently can’t predict how his condition will progress, adding that he will require many months of rehabilitation therapy. He added that his wife, son, and daughter have been traumatized by the incident and are attending therapy to cope with the situation.
Despite his injuries, Kunkel said he remained “hopeful and positive,” especially after supportive messages from the public.
“Many concerned people have reached out to us to ask how we are doing,” he said. “Your words of inspiration and your generous donations mean the world to us and has greatly assisted with our recovery and the planning of the expenses ahead of us. We are truly grateful of your thoughtfulness.”
Kunkel added that he is self-employed in civilian life but can no longer operate his business because of his injuries.
A close friend has created a GoFundMe campaign to help the family with expenses while Kunkel is unable to work. As of Nov. 13, the campaign had raised more than $300,000.
Christopher Kunkel, the captain’s son, previously told The Epoch Times that his father is passionate about volunteering. He began working with cadet organizations 20 years ago and joined the reserve forces soon after, becoming an officer in the Cadet Instructor Cadre, a specialized branch of commissioned officers within the CAF Reserve Force.
