Toronto police consider canine armour made in Edmonton
An anonymous corporate donor is offering to equip some canine members of Toronto’s police force with armoured vests designed to protect them from sharp weapons.
The Toronto Police Services Board is to consider the offer of 18 vests at its meeting Thursday.
Toronto police chief Mark Saunders says in a brief to the board that the donor came forward after Lonca, a canine with the force, was seriously injured last year by a suspect armed with a machete.
The force’s canine unit has been in existence since 1989 and has 22 officers and 33 dogs.
Saunders says the donor has ordered the vests — designed to protect a dog’s major internal organs if attacked with a sharp or blunt object — from Line of Fire Defence Systems in Edmonton at a cost of more than $22,000.
Saunders argues the police dogs are valued members of the service and fulfil an integral role in protecting Toronto’s citizens.
“It is only appropriate that we provide them with the necessary equipment to protect them from harm,” he wrote. “This donation in kind would keep them safe as they conduct their daily duties.”
Line of Fire spokesman Duncan Horner said the company began development of the vest after an Edmonton police dog named Quanto was fatally stabbed while helping to catch a suspect in 2013.
A major challenge was making the vest light enough to allow the dog to remain agile while still offering protection, Horner said.
“We’ve designed a harness that is very lightweight, it doesn’t restrict the dog’s agility at all and they can wear it for a full shift,” he said.
Horner said the RCMP, Edmonton police and police in Durham Region, east of Toronto, use the company’s vests.
The vests can be fitted with interchangeable inserts to protect the dogs against different weapons, including handguns and knives.