Calling in the army is no solution

Re: “ERT acquires new armoured truck,” Oct. 18. What on earth is Victoria Coun. Ben Isitt talking about? He has concerns about the new armoured vehicle for the Greater Victoria Emergency Response Team, pointing to the concern about “militarization of policing,” yet he states: “When a risk reaches a certain level, that responsibility should be assumed by [the Canadian Forces and RCMP], which have substantially more resources.”

Yeah, that’s a brilliant idea: let’s get the army to roll in to deal with an armed and barricaded suspect in a residential neighbourhood. This is a total contradiction. He’s worried about “militarizing the police,” but would prefer combat-trained soldiers to deal with a municipal police incident?

He clearly has no idea what he’s talking about. Wasting valuable time when lives are at stake to navigate the myriad bureaucratic channels that would have to be cleared to get that kind of military or RCMP assistance would be absurd, when one of the best tactical teams in North America is already in place, ready to take action.

Isitt also states: “I think we need to turn back to more of a community-policing model.” Well, here’s a news flash for Isitt: Community-policing practices and theories have no place in a dynamic, tactical, armedsuspect situation.

Isitt apparently has no understanding of the professional, highly skilled abilities and tactical capacity of his own city’s police department. Maybe he should stick to what he knows best — politics and frivolous spending of taxpayers’ dollars.