SIU investigates use of anti-riot gun on civilian
Author of the article:Liz Braun
Publishing date:Apr 18, 2021 • 17 hours ago • 1 minute read • 5 Comments
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Special Investigations Unit logo PHOTO BY POSTMEDIA NEWS /Toronto Sun
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Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is looking into the use of an anti-riot weapon by police officers during a call in Whitby.
Durham Regional Police were called Saturday night around 6.40 p.m. to Dundas St. for reports of a person in crisis and located a woman near the Whitby Public Library.
After an interaction with the police, an officer fired a plastic bullet at her from his ARWEN gun.
The woman was not seriously injured but was taken to hospital for an assessment.
The ARWEN — Anti-Riot Weapon Enfield — fires plastic bullets at a speed of 50 metres to 75 metres per second, and while the projectiles are usually less lethal than live ammunition, they can cause serious blunt-force trauma or death.
The weapon has an ugly history, having been developed for use by the British armed forces for crowd control in Northern Ireland at the height of the Troubles in the 1970s. In the end, the British military declined to use the weapon.
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ARWEN and similar weapons are used for crowd control and against rioters.
There has been an outcry against plastic bullets and so-called baton rounds for decades and the use of projectiles has been controversial since the mid-1980s.
Anyone with information is asked to call the SIU at 1-800-787-8529
torontosun.com
Author of the article:Liz Braun
Publishing date:Apr 18, 2021 • 17 hours ago • 1 minute read • 5 Comments
Special Investigations Unit logo
Special Investigations Unit logo PHOTO BY POSTMEDIA NEWS /Toronto Sun
Article content
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is looking into the use of an anti-riot weapon by police officers during a call in Whitby.
Durham Regional Police were called Saturday night around 6.40 p.m. to Dundas St. for reports of a person in crisis and located a woman near the Whitby Public Library.
After an interaction with the police, an officer fired a plastic bullet at her from his ARWEN gun.
The woman was not seriously injured but was taken to hospital for an assessment.
The ARWEN — Anti-Riot Weapon Enfield — fires plastic bullets at a speed of 50 metres to 75 metres per second, and while the projectiles are usually less lethal than live ammunition, they can cause serious blunt-force trauma or death.
The weapon has an ugly history, having been developed for use by the British armed forces for crowd control in Northern Ireland at the height of the Troubles in the 1970s. In the end, the British military declined to use the weapon.
Ontario Special Investigations Unit logo.
Ontario's police watchdog charges two cops in two days with sex assault
Toronto Police at the scene of a police-involved shooting on Tuesday, April 13, 2021.
SIU probing after Toronto Police shoot man at downtown building
Ontario Special Investigations Unit logo.
SIU probing death of 56-year-old Toronto man
ARWEN and similar weapons are used for crowd control and against rioters.
There has been an outcry against plastic bullets and so-called baton rounds for decades and the use of projectiles has been controversial since the mid-1980s.
Anyone with information is asked to call the SIU at 1-800-787-8529

SIU investigates use of anti-riot gun on civilian
Ontario’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) is looking into the use of an anti-riot weapon by police officers during a call in Whitby.