
Last week, media reports described a city “under siege” as the RCMP hunted for a man who killed three police officers and injured two others in Moncton, New Brunswick. The heavily armed police force deployed armoured vehicles, helicopters, and a robot to find the gunman—while officers patrolled the streets in full-combat uniform. All of this military gear brought back unfortunate memories of the clash between Mi’kmaq protesters and heavily armed New Brunswick RCMP officers, snipers, and private police forces that rocked the province late last year.
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But police forces seem to think differently. In 2008, Montreal’s SPVM sought the help of the Canadian Armed Forces after the riots in Montreal North revealed they were unprepared to deal with this type of event. It’s unclear why the SPVM chose to seek advice from the army rather than collaborate with other police forces on the continent that have had to deal with riots in recent years—unclear, but not surprising.
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