Manitoba

Police board poised to abandon policies it created around use of force, vehicle pursuit, evidence control

The Winnipeg Police Board is poised to abandon three policies it developed to govern the Winnipeg Police Service.

Winnipeg Police Service already has broader policies in place, says board chair David Asper

A photograph of a Winnipeg Police Service officer badge.
The Winnipeg Police Service already has policies in place concerning use of force, vehicle pursuit and evidence control that are far broader than the policies developed by the Winnipeg Police Board, according to board chair David Asper. (Lyzaville Sale/CBC)

The Winnipeg Police Board is poised to abandon three policies it developed to govern the Winnipeg Police Service.

On Friday, the volunteer board will consider a motion to rescind its use-of-force policy, vehicle-pursuit policy and evidence-control policy.

This comes at the behest of the Manitoba Police Commission, a provincial body that governs municipal police boards.

On Dec. 21, the Manitoba Police Commission informed the Winnipeg Police Board its policies were inconsistent with the provincial Police Services Act, according to a report authored by Winnipeg Police Board chair David Asper.

The service already has policies in place that are far broader than the policies developed by the Winnipeg Police Board, Asper said in a telephone interview.

Winnipeg Police Board chair David Asper said the board developed policies inconsistent with provincial legislation. (Handout photo)

"There was a view that existing policies needed to be amplified or expressed in a different way," said Asper, who assumed the chair of the police board in 2017.

Asper could not say how much time or money was spent developing the policies the board is now poised to rescind.