Cops stabbed while interviewing suspect

[PMedMoe]

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CALGARY - Two cops were stabbed Tuesday morning in downtown Calgary when a man they were interviewing suddenly pulled a knife and attacked, officials say.

One of the officers — a Mountie — was rushed to hospital in critical condition with four stab wounds.

His condition was later upgraded to serious.

The other cop — a member of the Calgary Police Service — suffered minor wounds.

Both officers are in their 50s.

The attack took place in the offices of the Alberta Serious Incident Response Team (ASIRT).

Calgary city police said the suspect went to the offices to be interviewed by officers.

“Shortly after being escorted into an interview room by a plain-clothes RCMP member assigned to ASIRT, the witness, a 30-year-old man, turned violent and attacked the officer, stabbing him multiple times,” police said in a statement.

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Would they not have frisked the guy first?  ???

Speedy recovery to both.

 

[PegcityNavy]

Ever see the video on the internet where the suspect they are questioning pulls out a gun and shoots himself in the head when the officers leave the room. Clearly the police need to do a better job frisking suspects

 

[stukirkpatrick]

the issue here is that the person was a witness, not a suspect (albeit a very disturbed witness).

Is the public going to stand for police searching everyone who comes in to give a statement? 

 

[Gunner98]

Jeez, the public is OK with being frisked and swept with a metal detector when going to a concert or a hockey game in many locations - so why not in a police station by experienced friskers, not some mall cop wannabe.

 

[stukirkpatrick]

Having people searched upon entry at a police station/detachment would be a good thing and I'd be happy for it, but not everywhere has the manpower to do that.

Unfortunately the ASIRT offices where this happened weren't at a police station.  They were part of a separate government building.  Whether the province wants to hire a few more sherrifs and enact the same principle remains to be seen.

 

[Container]

Hi guys-

I understand the suggestion that people should be searched coming into a "police station" etc. Unfortunately, the police walk on the cautious side of public perception and the appearance of general distrust at the local level just doesn't fly.

For example. ASIRT is a program where police investigate serious allegations against police. The individual in this case, while dangerous from his history, is a complainant (and at that point must also be seen as a potential victim). Todays justices, in civil and criminal court, would not allow the police to say that they are conducting a physical search of everyone coming through their doors. As this would dissuade certain "unsavoury" types from lodging a complaint or assisting ASIRT with thier investigations. Thereby potentially keeping real complaints from being looked at.

Thats the same as the submitting to a security screen at the football game. You can choose to turn around and leave instead- when that ios applied to ASIRT that means that a "victim" (from the RCMP's/courts eyes) is being "chased" away through intimidation. These are the same types of logic that produce stuff like not having your gun in your belt while you interview somone because it may "intimidate" them./  Todays police are very concerned with that buzz word "optics" with the numerous witchhunts initiated by the media. I hope I explained this well. If its unclear why we cant search everyone ESPECIALLY when they want to initiate a complaint against the police please ask me for clarification.