THUNDER BAY – City police officers drew their guns more last year than at any point in the past five years.
That’s the finding in the Thunder Bay Police Service’s annual use of force report, which was released at the police services board meeting on Tuesday.
Officers drew guns on 88 reported occasions in 2014, which is significantly higher than the previous four-year average of about 56 times per year. The previous high within the past five years was 62 times in 2013.
Despite the high number of times a gun was drawn, officers only shot the weapon 30 times. That number is the lowest in the past five years.
Below are the reported totals for 2014:
- Firearm pointed – 62
- Handgun drawn – 88
- Empty Hand – 27
- Aerosol Weapon – 10
- Impact Weapon – 0
- Taser – 5
- Tactical Communications – 80
- Other – 5
- Firearm discharged – 30
- Animals destroyed – 29
Total Reports -- 130
Despite the 30 firearm discharges, police officials say the vast majority of those reports are linked to animal-related incidents.
The report also details that other uses of force happened less frequently than the previous four-year average.
The use of Tasers was at a five-year low, with officers only using the electroshock weapon five times.
There were no reported incidents of impact weapons used in 2014 and empty hand use of force was below the five year-average
