How Windsor police prepare to handle an event like the Toronto attack
In the wake of the deadly attack in Toronto on Monday, CBC News asked Windsor police how it would handle a similar situation in the city.
Toronto Police officer Const. Ken Lam is being praised for the way he interacted with the man believed to be responsible for killing 10 people and injuring 14 others in an attack.
Lam is seen in a video, shouting with the suspect who appears to be pointing a black object at the officer, yelling at Lam to shoot him.
The officer arrested the suspect without injury.
Windsor Police Sgt. Steve Betteridge would not comment on that specific incident but said deescalating a situation safely is the goal of every arrest.
"If eliminating the threat can be done by a peaceful, safe arrest that is always our goal," said Betteridge.
Every case unique
Betteridge said that every situation an officer finds themselves involved in is unique which means they all have to be looked at differently.
"There is no exact protocol," said Betteridge. "It is all based on the evidence and the situation at hand."
He said the goal is to deescalate a situation and provide more time for emergency responders to evaluate what to do next.
But Betteridge said they're also prepared to handle a "split second, life or death situation."
"An officer has to be trained to evaluate that threat," said Betteridge.
"If somebody pointed something at an officer, that officer has to make that determination: are they pointing a pencil? Are they pointing a fire arm? Are they pointing a cellphone?" said Betteridge, adding that question is best answered by the officer involved.
Gathering information, active shooters
"We do a lot of training for an active shooter scenario which is cases where that officers need to engage and needs to engage right away," said Betteridge.
He said that police will take in to account information from the scene as well as calls to emergency officials to make their decisions on how to act in a specific situation.
"Lots of people in crisis, lots of people in very emotional situations will say things that aren't accurate," said Betteridge.
