The Stratford Police Service deployed a light-armoured vehicle with members of its emergency response team Tuesday afternoon after receiving information that illegal weapons were inside a home on St. David Street in Stratford.
After receiving a tip about illegal weapons potentially being stored at a Stratford home, the city’s police department responded with a light-armoured vehicle and a few specialized officers from its emergency response team.
The result of Tuesday’s search of the St. David Street home was the reported seizure of a Baikal 18m .410 break-action shotgun, a pair of brass knuckles and various firearm parts believed to have been manufactured using 3D printers found in the home. Police also seized a small amount of suspected methamphetamine, crack cocaine and Percocet pills.
Police arrested a 30-year-old man and a 17-year-old woman without incident during the search. Both Stratford residents were taken to Stratford police headquarters, where they were charged with weapons and drug-related offences. While the woman is scheduled to appear in Stratford court on Dec. 15, police did not have a court date for the man as of 4 pm Wednesday.
const. Darren Fischer said the the police department decided to deploy its light-armoured vehicle to help protect officers conducting the search.
“Simply just because it was a weapons-related call, they utilized that piece of equipment to ensure the safety of the officers attending. … Because of the construction of the vehicle, it would be basically bulletproof and officers can take cover inside or behind. There would have been police cruisers in the area to form a perimeter around the scene, but the light-armoured vehicle allows the officers to get right (up to the home) safely without having to use any other tactical strategies,” Fischer said.
“They could stay in the vehicle and call people out rather than making a dynamic entrance into the residence that puts everybody at risk.”
Fischer said Stratford police bought the light-armoured vehicle from the London Police Service a few years ago after police there purchased a new one.