31 Oct Militarized police watch: Halifax edition

We awoke this morning to a CBC report that Halifax Regional Police have laid in a additional stock of military-issue, semi-automatic weapons, and they found two opportunities in the last 10 days to draw these weapons on the streets of Halifax.

I am no gun expert, but piecing together police statements, photographs of the two incidents, and a little internet sleuthing, the guns in question appear to be Colt Canada C8-IUR carbines like the one pictured above, outfitted with 10- or 11.6-inch, cold hammer forged barrels for use in what Colt’s promotional material calls “close-quarter battle.”

Close-quarter battle.

HRM Police stocked up on the weapons back in January, along with unspecified “armoured tactical gear.” The heavy guns were needed, according to Deputy Chief Bill Moore, because, “When you’re going to a gun call against a long gun, a handgun is not the preferred weapon.”

That would explain why police brought out wartime armaments when responding to last week’s report of a man with a rifle in downtown Halifax. But why on earth did they think they needed drawn, semi-automatics in response to an eccentric burglar who tried to escape across the Northwest Arm in a canoe Wednesday?

HRM Police explanation: Because they thought the man might have a sword.

Seriously? Holstered handguns are not sufficient for trained police officers to deal with a man with a possible sword in a canoe? They need drawn, semi-automatic assault rifles as well?

“They’re utilizing the weapons that are provided to them,” Moore told the CBC. “We’ve augmented the number of weapons we have so there are a few more in the field. So it’s not about over reacting but making sure that we respond with the appropriate weapons.”

In other words, the use of military weapons was justified because they were available. Put another way, the weapons were deployed, therefore they were justified.

This is entirely predictable. If we give police additional armaments, they will use those armaments. Because they are there. It is only a matter of time before this leads to tragedy.

I, for one, do not want HRM Police (or CBRM Police, or New Glasgow Police, or Northside Southwest Margaree Police) going about our streets and byways with heavy weaponry they feel they must deploy because it is there. I don’t think most Haligonians do either. Moore himself told the CBC there is little public appetite for having these weapons in the hands of local police forces.

The public’s view ought to carry weight. To the best of my knowledge, the Nova Scotia House of Assembly has never debated the rampant militarization of police now underway in our province. I don’t know that HRM Council has either, but even if it has, the issue ought to be beyond the scope of a municipal council.

This tide needs to be stopped—and rolled back.