MORE TASERS ROLLED OUT
Chief orders three-fold increase in the number of officers equipped with Tasers
Transit Police Chief Doug LePard is ordering a three-fold increase in the number of officers equipped with Tasers as a way of providing an alternative to using guns during critical incidents.
LePard said Wednesday that there are currently about 20 officers trained and equipped with Tasers among the force’s 120 front-line officers. That number should reach 60 during the coming year.
“I want police officers to have that option if it’s appropriate,” he said. “You never want to be forced to use deadly force if there is an option.”
The directive would mean one officer in every pair would be equipped with a Taser that could be used to subdue a person acting dangerously, while the other officer would stand “lethal overwatch” with a standard-issue Glock handgun.
LePard made the comment in response to the shooting earlier this week of a man armed with a machete-like weapon at the 29th Avenue SkyTrain Station. Transit officers had locked the man inside a train, but he escaped after kicking out a window and was shot by Vancouver police. The man remains in serious condition in hospital but is expected to survive.
Metro Vancouver is the only region in Canada with dedicated transit police. The shooting provides a window into the unique role of transit police and their relationship with other municipal and RCMP forces in the region.
“I want to ensure there is never a situation in which a transit police officer is dealing with a critical incident like that where they do not have rapid access to a less-lethal option,” LePard said.
Transit police are fully trained and armed officers capable of responding to any crime. But they mainly play a support role to the other forces in various municipalities.
“It’s very collaborative,” LePard explained. “Generally, the philosophy of policing is, ‘You caught it, you clean it.’ I can assure you that (the other police departments are) happy we’re taking the load off them.”
He said that in cases involving a chargeable suspect in 2015, transit police conducted the entire investigation in 61 per cent of cases, and offered assistance to other forces in the rest.
When it comes to more serious indictable crimes, the jurisdictional police force tends to take control, as evidenced by the fact it was Vancouver police who shot the suspect at the 29th Avenue Station.
LePard would not comment directly on the case due to an ongoing investigation by the Independent Investigations Office, but noted he had ordered the new Tasers prior to the incident.
“Generally speaking, a situation like that could have been an ideal scenario (for a Taser),” LePard said.
In 2014, Transit police shot and killed a man with a knife who was acting irrationally inside a Surrey Safeway store. A report by the Independent Investigations Office cleared them of any wrongdoing, but the shooting victim’s family questioned why a Taser was not used.
LePard took over the Transit Police in March after 35 years with the Vancouver Police Department, most recently as deputy chief. He is the fourth transit police chief since 2005.
As the new guy on the block, LePard wants to “up our game” in terms of investigations, including improved training on interviewing skills.
“Historically, there was an attitude here, ‘Hey, just give it to the jurisdictional police.’” The goal now is for officers to “thoroughly investigate every incident we can, from front to back.”
In 2013, the Mayor’s Council on Regional Transportation asked the regional transportation commissioner to “provide a report back as soon as possible on the two-tier system for Transit Police, including an analysis of statistics and comparables with other police forces in the region.” The commissioner’s position was eliminated in 2014 without the report being provided. Politicians seemingly moved on to other issues.
At that time, TransLink faced a $30-million shortfall, about equivalent to the Transit Police budget.
Vancouver Mayor Gregor Robertson suggested the force be disbanded, arguing there are already police departments in place where the transit line runs.
Jordan Bateman of the Canadian Taxpayers Federation said he pushed mayors hard on the issue at the time and is disappointed nothing came of it. “It’s a huge missed opportunity. They pass a motion and it just disappears.”
Since then, he says the mayors have “got into bed” with TransLink and seem reluctant to “rock the boat.”
Robertson repeatedly refused to be interviewed on the subject, saying through his staff that the “new Transit Police chief and TransLink CEO are evaluating the program.”
TransLink, which pays the police bills, also refused to comment.
When someone calls 911 to report a crime on SkyTrain, the call is routed to the jurisdictional police, which then makes the decision to contact the Transit Police. Transit officers don’t stick strictly to transit property — they walk around their neighbourhoods, and often assist other forces if they are closest to a crime.
The Transit Police has no jail or forensic identification unit for detailed crime-scene work, but has agreements to borrow those services from other police forces.
Transit Police employs 167 officers and 68 support staff. Eight more officers are on the way to help patrol the new Evergreen SkyTrain extension.
A first-class transit constable earns $90,468 a year, compared with $97,776 in the Vancouver Police.
Transit Police recorded more than 300 sex-related offences in 2015, catching two-thirds of offenders. The force makes about 250 apprehensions a year under the Mental Health Act for people posing a danger to themselves or others.