Lack of downtown parking puts officers at risk of being attacked: police association

According to the president of the Winnipeg Police Association, a lack of secure parking at Winnipeg Police Service facilities downtown is putting its members at risk of being attacked.

Moe Sabourin said that the WPA has documented over 100 incidents as employees go to and from work, most of whom were in plain clothes.

“Lugnuts have been removed from members’ vehicles, death threats written into the paint of cars, written into the dust on cars,” Sabourin told 680 CJOB’s Mackling and Megarry. “Even before we left the Public Safety Building there was numerous incidents of nails and screws being scattered around the building. I don’t think any other business has those types of situations arise.”

One off-duty officer was stabbed when he was leaving the building in early December while another member was confronted by a suspect who indicated he had a weapon this past weekend.

“We do not have the same types of issues around the West District Station or East District Station. They have a card-access compound around those stations,” Sabourin said. “We’ve never had any significant incident such as we’ve seen downtown, and in the increase in severity.”

Mayor Bowman addressed the issue publicly the day the officer was stabbed but the union said they have not received a response from anyone at City Hall since then.

“When the Civic Parkade was falling down, those parking spots that were allowed for in there, that were safe and secure, disappeared,” Sabourin explained. “The only thing left for members to do was fend for themselves on the streets, and as we know, nobody else is parking around those buildings at 3 a.m.”

Sabourin wants the mayor or police chief to do something about the issue. In the meantime, the police association has written to Manitoba Growth, Enterprise and Trade to demand further action.