The Nova Scotia government is introducing restrictions on access to used police gear in reaction to last year’s mass shooting by a gunman who wore an RCMP uniform and drove a replica police cruiser.
Justice Minister Randy Delorey said Thursday the Police Identity Management Act is expected to be passed in the spring session, in recognition of the 13-hour rampage last April 18-19 by a killer who took 22 lives before he was killed by police.
In the days following the tragedy, calls mounted for restrictions that would end the trade in surplus or unneeded police uniforms, as existing law only prohibits using the gear to impersonate a police officer.
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The new legislation would make it illegal for unauthorized individuals to create, possess or sell the equipment and it would restrict ownership of police vehicle decals and police vehicle equipment to police and some others – such as film production companies – who will be governed by specific regulations.
Former police officers will be allowed to keep ceremonial uniforms and badges, but they must be rendered “unserviceable,” and the law will set up a process for the general public to forfeit or “permanently alter” any police-issued items they currently own.
The killer’s replica car, complete with flashing police lights and RCMP decals made at a Nova Scotia fabricator, was kept at one of his properties in Portapique, N.S.
Police said in the days after the rampage that the police uniform and almost exact replica patrol car helped the suspect to move around the province for such a long period of time before he was stopped.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published March 11, 2021.