Greater Sudbury police reported 98 use-of-force incidents in 2023, which was a 23-per-cent drop from the 128 incidents reported the previous year.
“Use of force” includes cases where police display and/or use weapons, which include conducted energy weapons and firearms, as well as when physical force results in an injury.
Last year’s drop follows the 34.7-per-cent increase reported in 2022, and brings it back down to within the range of previous years (95 incidents in 2021, 112 incidents in 2020, 85 incidents in 2019, 88 incidents in 2018).
Of the 98 incidents in 2023, 28 were in response to weapons-related calls, 10 related to intimate-partner violence/dispute, followed by nine disturbance calls, nine persons in crisis and eight instances of police executing warrants.
The nine person-in-crisis calls (mental health, suicide threat) marked a 17-call drop from the 26 recorded in 2022, despite a 12-per-cent increase in mental health calls for service.
This and various other use-of-force data has been compiled in Greater Sudbury Police Service’s annual use of force report, which has been tabled for Wednesday’s police board meeting.
There were 47 reports submitted in 2023 where officers drew, pointed or discharged a firearm. The only times a firearm was discharged, it was to humanely dispatch an injured animal, which happened five times.
Conductive energy weapons (CEWs) were recorded as a use-of-force option in 62 reports, including 42 times they were drawn and 20 times they were used (either firing a cartridge or driving a stun).
“Overall, CEW usage is down from last year, and even when compared to years previous,” according to the GSPS report. They were discharged 29 times in 2022.
“This is likely the result of increased encounters with violent individuals and officers becoming more aware of the CEW’s capabilities, especially as a form of de-escalation.
“One of the main focuses of training is de-escalation strategies, especially communications, using time and distance, cover when appropriate before resorting to any use of force options, including the CEW.”
Physical control techniques were indicated on 15 reports in 2023, which include such things as escort techniques, grounding, joint locks, pinning, pressure points and strikes. The most common physical control technique noted was grounding, with 10 associated reports in 2023.
Whereas 2023 incident totals can still be compared with those of previous years, it’s difficult to compare the number of reports with those of previous years, since the Ministry of the Solicitor General introduced a new reporting system in 2023.
New to the GSPS arsenal are extended range less-lethal launchers (ERLLL), which were deployed in the spring of 2023 and launch less-lethal projectiles.
“Selected GSPS frontline patrol members” have been trained on the weapons, which are cited as “critical to assist in safely reducing and eliminating the risks posed during high-risk events where an individual is armed with an edged weapon by having an increased distance beyond CEW capabilities.”
These less-lethal weapons were not used against anyone in 2023.
Last year, two officers received minor injuries, of whom one required medical attention.
Six subjects received injuries last year, of which five were related to CEW use (CEW probe removal needs to be done by medical professionals).
The public police board meeting can be attended in-person at the fifth floor of police headquarters (190 Brady St.) or live streamed via Zoom.
The zoom meeting address is: https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87455535165?pwd=Z7rFphZJyAqWsKeYfnlu4137qNm3ob.1#success
The meeting ID is 874 5553 5165, and the passcode is 532854.
The police board consists of two municipal appointees (Ward 8 Coun. Al Sizer and Mayor Paul Lefebvre), two provincial appointees (Krista Fortier and Shawn Poland) and one municipal appointee (Gerry Lougheed Jr.).
Tyler Clarke covers city hall and political affairs for Sudbury.com.
