Sarnia police used force at fewer than one per hundred of calls last year

Sarnia police officers reported using force during fewer than one per hundred of calls for service in 2022.

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Deputy Chief Julie Craddock told the police services board Wednesday that 32 individual incidents out of 33,721 calls last year resulted in use of force.

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Police officers in Ontario are required to fill out a report when they use force, including handguns, conducted energy weapons and other weapons, as well as physical force.

“Use of force is an expected and required component of modern policing,” said Chief Derek Davis.

“Police officers are empowered by law to use force. . . and force is often necessary to enforce the law, to take people into custody and to protect the public we serve,” he said.

“The question becomes, ‘Is the force reasonable?’”

Davis said the reporting process is in place to ensure use of force by officers is “appropriate under the circumstances.”

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Those reports are reviewed by the officer’s supervisor, commander and a training sergeant, and submitted to the province.

“We also look at it to identify training opportunities,” Craddock said.

Of the 32 reports in 2022 in Sarnia, two officers involved euthanizing critically injured animals.

Craddock said those were only times last year city officers discharged firearms, outside of training.

The majority of the use of force incidents happen when officers are called out to weapon-related incidents, according to a report prepared by Craddock.

The 32 use-of-force reports in 2022 involved 35 individual suspects, of which 19 were armed with a weapon, the report says.

Knives, or other edged weapons, and firearms were the most common incidents. Others included bats or clubs, shovels and “weapons of opportunity,” according to the report.

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There were 12 incidents where officers drew their firearm and pointed it at a subject and seven reports where a handgun was drawn, but not pointed, the report says.

Conducted energy weapons, or stun guns, were used in 11 instances and made up 35 per cent of all use-of-force reports for the year.

During the year, 10 officers and 16 subjects were injured during use-of-force incidents and all the injuries were minor, with one officer and six subjects requiring medical attention, the report says.

During the year, mental health calls resulted in three use-of-force incidents.

The report says the city police service added a second rapid response crisis team (MHEART) to respond to calls where someone is experiencing a mental health crisis.

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Officers reported using force on 20 unarmed subjects during the year.

“A review of each incident involving the application of force on an unarmed subject revealed officers were justified in their application of force based on the specific situation,” the report says.

Each of those incidents also were reviewed to determine if there was a “race disparity in the application of force,” the report said.

“The review showed that no apparent race disparity was observed with respect to the application of force on unarmed subjects when considering the specific subject behavior and or information known about the call or subject,” it says.

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