WPS armoured vehicle sent to 34 tactical team calls, 18 community events in 2018

The Winnipeg police's armoured response vehicle was sent out 78times in 2018, including 34 deployments with the tactical unit, 21 warrant executionsand 18 community events.

The armoured vehicle, purchasedin 2015 for $342,800, was involved in eight active firearm events last year, including one in November wherethe vehicle was shot multiple times, according to a report to be presented to the Winnipeg Police BoardFriday.

On that occasion, a 13-hour standoff on Bannerman Ave,the vehicle took multiple shots meant for police officers, the report says.

The armoured vehicle, or ARV1, seats eight and has eight gun ports, according to a police news release from the time they rolled the vehicle out in June 2016. The vehicle was purchased to ensure police have appropriate equipment in volatile or violent situations, the police report says.

It was also used for 21 warrant executions, mostly for places where firearms were believed to be or warrants executed under the Controlled Drug and Substance Act, according to the report.

On four occasions, the 7,710-kilogram vehicle was sent in response to domestic violence situations, the report says. It was deployed once for an abduction.

It was also sent to 18 community events primarily visits to elementary schools across the city, the report says. Other events include the Winnipeg Police Service Half Marathon, the Manitoba Down Syndrome Walk with Me and Costco Safety Day.

The report says most of those events involved members of the police service's community relations team bringing the ARV1 to show members of the public.

"Several police members have relayed that citizens appreciate having the opportunity to see the vehicle and discuss its role in providing a safer outcome to firearm events in Winnipeg," the report says.

The ARV1 was also used forfourtraining exercises for new tactical unit members, the report says.

The Winnipeg Police Board passed a resolution in June 2016 requiring police to provide a report on ARV1's deployments over its first year of operation.

In its first year, from July 1, 2016 to July 1, 2017, the ARV1 was deployed more for training and community events than actual police calls. It was deployed 12 times for training purposes, 27 times for community eventsand 34 times for actual police calls.

The 2018 report is set to be presented to the Winnipeg Police Board on Friday.