Winnipeg police train media on use of force tactics
Holly Caruk | CBC News | Posted: May 21, 2016 12:30 AM | Last Updated: May 21, 2016
Police invited media to experience some of the training new recruits receive
The Winnipeg Police Service invited members of the media to their headquarters to take part in a use of force training session on Friday.
It comes the day after police use of force made headlines across the province. On Thursday, a man was shot by RCMP just south of Portage la Prairie, Man., after a short pursuit. He was taken to hospital with non-life threatening injuries.
A Winnipeg woman was also in court this week fighting charges of assaulting a peace officer. Lana Sinclair said police assaulted her.
- Winnipeg man, 30, shot by RCMP south of Portage la Prairie
- Winnipeg woman fights charges of assaulting police, alleges officer assaulted her
Participants learned about the criteria used when it comes to using force and when it is justified. Journalists were then taken through a training circuit meant to simulate some real life situations that police face.
"We put them through some of the training that our cadets and our recruits get, to expose them to that and give them a better understanding as to what our training is and why some of the decisions are made," Const. Dan Atwell, with the officer safety unit, said.
Media members were put in positions that simulated real life police calls with similar tools that an officer would carry — a gun, a Taser, pepper spray, and a baton.
Very little information was given about each call and participants were required to run around the gym first to simulate the adrenaline a person might experience.
"No two calls that you go to on the street are going to be the same ever, they are always going to be different. Even if it's a robbery and you go to another robbery, it's never going to be the same," Atwell said.
"Every situation has a thousand different possible outcomes."
Role playing officers recreated real-life scenarios with aggressive people, and the media participants had to decide how to handle the situation.
Police said they hope the training demonstrates what officers face on a daily basis.
"We want to make sure everyone understands what we are doing... [If] we end up having to use our Taser, use our baton, use our firearm, God forbid, it's good that the public knows why it happens," Atwell said.
Training equips recruits with the skills they need to handle volatile situations but also helps them learn to deal with the stress that comes with it, Atwell explained. The more times a recruit goes through these scenarios, the better equipped they are to handle them in real life.
"We intentionally make all the scenarios very different to try and get as many different stimulus responses built into them as possible," Atwell said.
Officers continue to go through this training throughout their careers to make sure they are always prepared.
"The vast majority of our interactions with the public do not involve any force whatsoever, so that can cause complacency in an officer, where they don't expect anything to happen. If they aren't ready, that can be very costly to them in a realistic situation," he said.
The Winnipeg Police say less than half of one percent of all WPS interactions with the public involve force.
"It's never anything we want to do. But sometimes it's essential to protect ourselves or someone else," said Atwell.