Police take their time making arrest in order to ensure public, officer safety
By Mo Cranker on February 24, 2018.
mcranker@medicinehatnews.com @MHNmocranker It was a long, but fairly routine Thursday evening as the Medicine Hat Police Service was able to locate and arrest a 28-year-old Brooks man wanted in connection with an assault with a weapon warrant. Around 5 p.m. Thursday members of the MHPS attended a residence in Riverside after learning the man was at the home and that he could be armed, despite having a lifetime firearms ban. “We learned that the man could be armed from a number of sources, so we didn’t want to do our usual warrant arrest, where we would have an officer walk up to the door and arrest the suspect,” said Insp. Joe West. “We wanted to call the man out just for public safety and for officer safety, because of that possibility of firearms. He refused to come out, so we called on the tactical team to help out with the arrest.” After the tactical unit arrived, it surrounded the house and began attempting to talk to the man inside. “After we had containment around the house, a big thing for us is trying to establish communication with the subject,” said West. “We had to use a throw phone in this case, meaning that we did have to breach a window on the house. Although he didn’t use the throw phone all that much, he did, at that point, start communicating with the officers through the window. Eventually he came out of the house.” The operation lasted around five hours, and West says it lasted that long because the MHPS wanted to be patient. “We don’t want to put any of our officers or our subject in danger, and create any unnecessary jeopardy for anyone involved,” he said. “When an incident outlasts our patrol units, the tactical team is called in, and they can have the ability to do things safe. It did take us a bit of time, but the tactical team got the job done.” West says the police are grateful for the help of Medicine Hatters during situations like Thursday’s. “We just want to thank, again, the citizens of Medicine Hat for their co-operation in events like this,” he said. “We know that these incidents do bring disruption, and our operations bring disruption. Everyone was very co-operative and understanding, without wanting us to disclose all of the information. It helps us a lot when we get that sort of co-operation.” The male is in custody awaiting a bail hearing. 12
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