Lethbridge’s new armoured rescue vehicle will save lives: police chief

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With violent, armed confrontations and high-risk incidents on the rise, the Lethbridge Police Service has a brand new armoured rescue automobile to higher defend its officers and the general public, it says.

The Teradyne Gurhka MPV, unveiled earlier this week, replaces a 1993 transformed armoured provider truck bought used six years in the past which doesn’t meet business requirements. The earlier automobile wasn’t totally bulletproof and uncovered officers to a “vital degree of threat,” mentioned LPS chief Shahin Mehdizadeh.

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“Weapon-involved calls have gotten increasingly more frequent and prior to now few years our nation has seen a major enhance within the quantity of protests and demonstrations in addition to an escalation in violence that put police and the general public in danger,” mentioned Mehdizadeh.

Over the previous three years, Lethbridge police responded to just about 12,000 requires service involving firearms and different weapons.

The service’s tactical crew has been deployed extra typically in recent times to incidents involving armed, barricaded topics, high-risk warrant executions and large-scale public protests and demonstrations. In 2022 and 2023, the tactical crew was deployed 17 instances, up from 12 instances in 2021 and 5 instances in 2020.

The mere presence of such a automobile can de-escalate a probably harmful scenario, mentioned Mehdizadeh.

“Individuals know they there’s nothing they will do to hurt anybody and the one choice for them is to place their palms up,” he mentioned.

The brand new armoured rescue automobile value simply over $500,000, however Mehdizadeh mentioned the acquisition was essential to guard the lives of officers and the general public. It’s anticipated for use for roughly 20 years.

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Simply as manufacturing facility employees want tools resembling helmets and steel-toed boots, the LPS wants the automobile to scale back the danger to its law enforcement officials, mentioned Lethbridge’s police chief.

“That is that steel-toed boot that they should have, and for us to not present that, or look the opposite means if one thing dangerous occurs, it’s not good for anybody,” mentioned Mehdizadeh. “And clearly you possibly can by no means put worth on a human life.”

And if LPS didn’t have an armoured rescue automobile and somebody bought injured, fingers could be pointed on the LPS for failing to supply that device to permit its law enforcement officials to do their job correctly, mentioned Mehdizadeh.

“Proper now with the labour legal guidelines and occupational well being and security and all this stuff that we have to do to maintain our staff protected and safe, it will be neglectful for us not to have a look at how we will present the most effective security to them primarily based on the calls they go to,” he mentioned.

Mehdizadeh hopes Lethbridge police not often, if ever, use the armoured rescue automobile.

“I’d moderately it sit and acquire mud than truly be used as a result of when it’s used, clearly, it means one thing critical is occurring in our group and persons are in danger,” he mentioned.

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