Use of force arrests involving firearms nearly doubled in 2018: London police

An annual report from London police shows the number of use-of-force arrests involving a subject with a firearm nearly doubled in 2018 from 2017.

The report details all use-of-force reports filed in 2018. The reports must be submitted when an officer draws a firearm, uses a weapon on another person, uses physical force that results in an injury or deploys a stun gun.

A total of 287 use-of-force reports were filed in 2018, up from 257 in 2017. However, the report notes that 40 of those reports involved contact with animals.

Arrests involving subjects armed with a rifle, pistol or shotgun nearly doubled in 2018 from the previous year, rising to 15 per cent from eight per cent.

Stun guns were deployed in 110 instances in 2018, up from last year’s 102, however more than 75 per cent of the time, the weapons were used in “demonstrated force presence mode,” meaning they never made contact with another individual.

Injuries to subjects made up 13 per cent of arrests, a number that’s up slightly from 2017’s 12 per cent. Arrests involving knives or other edged weapons remained unchanged at 25 per cent.

WATCH: Police must have ‘objective, credible grounds’ to stop and search: Tulloch

3:43 Police must have ‘objective, credible grounds’ to stop and search: Tulloch

The report said one incident in 2018 that involved the discharge of a firearm at an individual was not included in the analysis because it is still under review.

The London Police Services Board will receive the report Thursday afternoon.