Regina Police Service members, investigating a collision on the weekend, used a Conducted Energy Weapon, or CEW, to prevent an impaired driver from fleeing the scene in his car. The event occurred just after midnight on Sunday, March 30, 2014 and, although the event was reported to the media by the Watch Commander, the Service is issuing a written release for the website and social media in keeping with the Service’s commitment to notifying the public each time the Regina Police Service discharges a CEW. It should be noted that the Regina Police Service dispatched approximately 2,400 calls for service between March 13th (the date of the re-introduction of CEWs) and March 31st.
At 12:17 a.m., on Sunday, March 30, 2014, at Pasqua Street and 9th Avenue North, two Regina Police Service members were dealing with a suspected impaired driver when they heard a collision nearby; upon investigation they found that a car had crashed into the rear of a vehicle stopped for the red light, which in turn, struck the vehicle ahead of it. The vehicles were in the left lane, northbound on Pasqua Street at Ring Road, which is a high volume intersection and busy, even at that hour. The officers approached the vehicles and, after preliminary investigation, attempted to arrest the driver of the rear-most vehicle for impaired driving. The suspect driver refused to exit his vehicle and tried to start his car to leave the scene of the collision, in spite of the officer’s repeated attempts to remove him from the vehicle. The driver was warned several times to stop what he was doing and continued to try to start the car. The officer deployed his CEW and the male suspect was taken into custody. As per policy, EMS transported the suspect to hospital for assessment and observation. The male was also charged with Impaired Drive, Resisting a Peace Officer and Possession of a Weapon Dangerous to Public Peace.
Twenty-seven year-old Justin Keith MACIVOR, DOB: 1987-01-20, of Regina is charged with Impaired Driving [253(1)(a) CC]; Resist A Peace Officer [129(a) CC] and Possession of a Weapon Dangerous to Public Peace [88 CC]. MACIVOR will make his first court appearance on these charges in Provincial Court at 9:30 a.m. on Tuesday, April 8, 2014.
Background: The Regina Police Service re-introduced CEWs to its front line personnel (after training and certification) on March 13, 2014. (The Saskatchewan Police Commission approved the use of CEWs by municipal police in January, 2013.) Before being issued a CEW, officers are required to complete a three-to-four-hour online training module, through the Saskatchewan Police College, followed by an eight-hour training session in a classroom. The classroom training includes: a review of the theory presented online; a review of the policies and procedures pertaining to CEW use; a focus on de-escalation techniques; “dry” drills with training cartridges to practice safe handling and deployment; and practice deployments on foam targets. The classroom training concludes with realistic one-on-one scenarios to test the officer’s individual decision-making under pressure. Each scenario is observed by the instructors and de-briefed with the candidate to evaluate the decision-making. Once these requirements have been met, each officer receives certification and, with it, authorization to carry a CEW in regular patrol duties. Each trained officer is issued a CEW at the start of his or her shift and returns it at the end of shift. The officer is required to test the device at the start of shift. Members must re-certify each year in order to carry a CEW. CEW instructors must be re-certified as instructors every three years.
The decision-making with any Use-of-Force is complex, unique to each situation and often carried out within seconds. The circumstances that must be present in CEW use are also complex but they must include “an immediate need for control (of the subject) due to the high risk of death or serious bodily harm”. Any officer who discharges a CEW against a person must have EMS or a qualified medical practitioner attend to that individual at the earliest opportunity. A CEW is deemed an intermediate weapon; it is not intended to be used as a substitute for lethal force.
Every CEW discharge (like every use of force) is reviewed by a Use of Force Committee within the Regina Police Service and reported to the Saskatchewan Police Commission on a quarterly basis.