Manitoba sheriffs want to be armed because of 'potentially dangerous' job, safety flaws at provincial courts
Former sheriff says he quit due to dangers on the job
Some sheriff's officers in Manitoba are calling on the province to provide them with firearms and Tasers because of potentially dangerous situations transporting prisoners and executing warrants, according to a risk assessment obtained by CBC News.
"Courthouses have a high number of charged persons, gang members, mentally disturbed persons and drug abusers that attend court," the report said.
"The management of prisoners is always potentially dangerous" and enforcing orders and arrest warrants "can be described as complex, dangerous and demanding."
An internal workplace safety and health committee, comprised of sheriffs from across the province, outlined a number of safety concerns in the assessment it sent to Manitoba Justice in May.
The report calls for some officers to be given both firearms and Tasers. But sheriffs themselves are divided on whether to be armed or not — some signed up for the job knowing they wouldn't have to carry a firearm. Currently, they carry a baton and pepper spray.
In 2016-17, sheriff's officers transported 23,703 prisoners in Manitoba; they served 2,990 legal documents, including protection orders, subpoenas and warrants, in 2017-18.
The report says they travel thousands of kilometres every year and are subject to verbal abuse and threats. Sheriffs are also responsible for the security of court staff, the judiciary and the public and the management of any disturbances at courthouses. The report says they seize dangerous objects every day from courthouses in Winnipeg, Brandon, Dauphin and The Pas.
Former sheriff speaks out
Former sheriff Ross Gillingham, 28, said he left the job because he felt it was too dangerous and his concerns weren't being taken seriously.
"All I can say at the end of the day is, 'Don't shoot me. Take whatever you want, don't shoot me,'" said Gillingham, who quit his job last year after working in the position for about 11 months.
"I left because I couldn't get over just how dangerous that job was. There were other factors at play, but that danger factor was the one that just pushed it over the edge."
Gillingham said he otherwise loved being a sheriff.
His dad was a military police officer and he believed contributing to public safety would make a difference in Manitoba.
After he became a sheriff, Gillingham joined the safety committee and said they raised a number of concerns with management, but he didn't feel they were taken seriously.
He said an outdated 14-year-old protective vest he was issued is an example.
"Our safety didn't seem to be the highest priority and it almost seemed that instead of being proactive, that the province and the higher-ups within the sheriffs' organization were much more complacent with being reactive."
A Manitoba Justice spokesperson said it's policy to order new sheriffs custom-fitted vests and once the issue was raised with management they issued a new vest — something Gillingham said only happened after he brought it up at a union meeting.
Manitoba Justice Minister Cliff Cullen said the safety of sheriffs is a paramount concern for the province.
"We obviously take their safety and the safety of Manitobans and our court system very seriously," Cullen said in an interview.
Cullen said the province is still studying the idea of arming sheriffs but pointed out it's not something the Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union, which represents about 171 sheriffs, has asked for.
The minister said the government has acted on some recommendations made by the union as a result of the risk assessment and some are complete while others are a work in progress.
Lack of secure cell space
The assessment recommends better cell space with proper ventilation be created in some court locations where a shortage is a "serious security concern" as sheriffs deal with an increasing number of gang members who need to be separated. Right now, there isn't enough adequate space, so prisoners are kept outside in vans at one location.
Poor ventilation systems in at least three courthouses make it difficult to pepper spray a prisoner if needed, the report warns.
The assessment points out sheriffs often work doing circuit court in rural areas all over the province where gyms, community centres and schools are converted into temporary courtrooms.
Some of the areas may have limited access to RCMP officers.
The province said sheriffs' vehicles are GPS tracked and Cullen pointed out they can call police for help. Sheriff's officers sometimes work in areas without radio service and are prohibited from using their cellphones on the job unless they are in the civil enforcement unit, Gillingham said.
That unit is responsible for making house calls, serving people with paperwork, seizing property and carrying out evictions.
Eviction turned deadly
One of the latter turned deadly in July 2014 when two sheriffs were in the middle of evicting a man from a Winnipeg home.
The man's behaviour was off and caused the officers to step down. They called the Winnipeg Police Service non-emergency line for assistance before getting a call alerting them the man they were evicting was suicidal and threatened to shoot the sheriffs.
The eviction turned into a tense standoff with police that ended when the man took his own life, the assessment says.
The report notes firearms have been a problem at other assignments.
Last May, a loaded .22-calibre rifle was found beside the bed of a man sheriffs were evicting.
Cullen said extensive research is done before a sheriff enters a situation like an eviction.
"If they deem it unsafe, they do not have to go into that particular situation. They also have the ability to ask police to attend with them as well."
RCMP transport unit armed
A Manitoba RCMP corporal, who is considered an expert on court security and the transportation of prisoners, is quoted in the report as supporting armed sheriffs. The unit he led before moving onto another role with the RCMP regularly takes prisoners on the east side of the province to and from court appearances. Essentially officers in the unit do the same job as sheriffs, but are armed.
The Mountie pointed to a 2014 incident in Brampton, Ont. where a man entered a courthouse and tried twice to get through a screening area meant for lawyers. Once confronted, he pulled out a gun and shot a cop.
"This is certainly not an everyday [sic] but you must be prepared, not only for your safety, but for the safety of the public, court staff, and judiciary. If you are dealing with an individual who is motivated and armed, he needs to be stopped with an equal level of force or people are going to be seriously hurt or killed. It's like trying to stop a pit-bull coming at you, there is no other option," the RCMP corporal is quoted in the report as saying.
The risk assessment warns that despite best efforts from the safety committee, sheriffs will not be able to stop an armed person, and calls the recommendation to arm officers a last resort.
Some provinces have armed sheriffs
The assessment points out that not all sheriffs would have to be armed. The committee says it wouldn't want to see armed officers working in secure lock-up areas — in those spots, unarmed officers would remain.
In B.C., all sheriffs carry firearms and some have carbines. In Saskatchewan, deputy sheriffs are armed but in P.E.I. and Newfoundland and Labrador, they do not carry guns or Tasers.
Federal corrections officers who transport maximum and medium security inmates from men's prisons are armed and officers moving female inmates occasionally have a firearm with them.
Union says dialogue needed
The Manitoba Government and General Employees' Union said the risk assessment has many concerns that could be addressed through better security measures. But the union remains neutral on the issue of arming officers with firearms and Tasers.
"We believe that all safety and security precautions should be properly evaluated before any changes are made. The right place to do that is by reopening that dialog [sic] with the employer, the members and the union because talking about security solutions in public can undermine their effectiveness," MGEU president Michelle Gawronsky said in an emailed statement.
The province is currently reviewing the request and hopes to have a review done on the matter by the end of December, according to a letter from the assistant deputy minister's office obtained by the CBC.
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