Equip Charlottetown police vehicles with high-powered rifles, urges councillor

A Charlottetown councillor is campaigning to get city police vehicles equipped with rifles.

Currently, Charlottetown police officers carry pistols. Some rifles are available to the force but they're locked up.

Coun. Bob Doiron, a member of city's protective and emergency services committee, has been fighting for a year to get every police vehicle equipped with the more accurate long-range carbine rifles.

"Our committee is trying to get the tools for the officers that if there is an immediate threat they can handle the situation immediately," said Doiron, who has been an officer with University of Prince Edward Island's police department since 1987.

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"We don't want to have to call for a rifle or anything like that. We want to have it in the car, give the tools the police officers need to do their job."

An independent review of the 2014 Moncton RCMP shooting that called for better access to shotguns and rifles has led many police forces across the country to consider equipping their departments with more powerful weapons.

'We want our police to be well protected'

This week it was announced Toronto police patrol cars will soon be equipped with semi-automatic carbine assault rifles.

Summerside purchased four more carbine rifles in 2015, bringing the city's total to five. The rifles aren't in police vehicles yet but are expected to be mounted in the coming weeks, said the department.

Just weeks ago, the Town of Kensington approved the purchase of its first carbine rifle. It will be locked up at the station, not kept in the cars.

Doiron estimates it would cost about $15,000 to get all the police vehicles in Charlottetown equipped, plus they would have to pay for training and ammunition.

He wants to see that reflected in this year's budget.

"Society is changing a lot now, we're coming into different serious incidents throughout the country and the world. When these incidents come up we're worried, we want our police to be well protected," said Doiron.

Charlottetown police chief Paul Smith said the force is working on the budget now and the decision will ultimately come down to money.

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