Police-Encounters-With-People-In-Crisis

C. Alternative equipment options
80. Some stakeholders suggested that the TPS should be equipped with shields to
disarm people in crisis or de-escalate situations with a minimum of force, but others
were doubtful of a shield’s utility for first responders. Their concerns traced three
themes: (1) that shields are too heavy and bulky, which may delay officer response time
in dynamic situations or discourage officers from carrying the tools with them; (2) that
shields may provide officers with a falsely heightened sense of security in dangerous
situations, increasing the risk of officer injury; and (3) that the presence of a shield in a
situation that could be contained by verbal or other de-escalation techniques could
increase the anxiety or fear of a person in crisis and have the effect of escalating the
incident.
81. Although representatives from other stakeholder groups expressed their
understanding of the above concerns, the Review also heard that increasing officer
confidence through the provision of additional equipment could be constructive. The
escalation or de-escalation of many situations can be attributed to the fear response of
both the subject and the officer involved in the incident. Some stakeholders expressed
the view that officers who know they have multiple protective options (bullet-proof
vests, shields) and non-lethal weapons at their disposal may be better able to manage
their fear response and, rather than over-relying on such options, feel more confident
taking the time to attempt various de-escalation techniques before using any force.
Other stakeholders favoured a model similar to that in London, England, in which a
team of officers equipped with shields and other protective or non-lethal equipment
could be deployed to disarm a person in crisis of any edged weapons without resort to
firearms.
III.
Recommendations
82. I recommend that:
Conducted Energy Weapons
RECOMMENDATION 55: The TPS advocate an interprovincial study of the
medical effects of CEW use on various groups of people (including vulnerable
groups such as people in crisis), as suggested by the Goudge Report.
RECOMMENDATION 56: The TPS collaborate with other municipal,
provincial, and federal police services to establish a central database of
standardized information concerning matters related to the use of force, and
CEW use specifically, such as:
(a)
(b)
(c)
the location of contact by CEW probes on a subject’s body;
the length of deployment and the number of CEW uses;
any medical problems observed by the officers;
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