A 35-year-old man was tasered by a Regina police K-9 unit officer after allegedly spraying bear mace at the officer and a police dog.
The incident occurred in the area of 5th Avenue and Angus Street on Saturday at 5:45 p.m. after a K-9 unit officer saw a man acting suspiciously and tried to speak with him.
“As the officer got closer to the suspect, he noticed what appeared to be a weapon in the suspect’s backpack,” Regina police said. “The suspect then pointed a can of bear mace in the direction of the officer in a threatening manner before fleeing on foot.”
Police said the officer found the man a short distance away and saw that he was still carrying the bear mace. The suspect refused multiple times to comply when the officer asked him to stop and put down the bear mace, police said.
That’s when the officer deployed the dog, police said. “The male suspect repeatedly sprayed the (dog) with the bear mace and attempted to spray the officer, even as the dog made and maintained contact with the suspect, biting his arm.”
The K-9 officer then deployed his conducted energy weapon (CEW), though it took two uses before police were able to take the man into custody.
The man was taken to hospital for injuries. Police say they found a machete, a baton, and a large quantity of illicit drugs and cash in the man’s backpack. The man was also wearing body armour, police say.
“The use of the CEW has been documented and will be subject to internal review by a Use of Force Review Board (Regina Police Service) and external oversight by the Saskatchewan Police Commission,” police said.
Roderick Asapace faces several charges, including assaulting a peace officer with a weapon, injuring a police service dog, and three counts of carrying a concealed weapon.
Asapace appeared in Regina Provincial Court on Monday at 9:30 a.m.
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