British Columbia Civil Liberties Association
November 10, 2009 – For immediate release

BCCLA uncovers VPD purchase of untested crowd control weapon for  Olympics

Vancouver, B.C. – A senior member of the Vancouver Police Department confirmed to the BCCLA late last week that the VPD has acquired an LRAD (Long Range Acoustical Device) crowd control weapon for the 2010 Olympics. He advised that the VPD would be using the device to ensure that police instructions were clearly heard. The LRAD sonic gun fires a concentrated beam of sound at its targets that can cause hearing damage and temporarily disrupt vision.

BCCLA President Robert Holmes pointed out that even as the Taser inquiry has not yet reported back, police are acquiring another high tech device that could be used to cause grievous pain. “This crowd control weapon was obtained without any public discussion and without any defined policy for its safe and proper use being set in advance. Tasers were also brought in through such an ill-considered and backwards approach.”

To the knowledge of the BCCLA, there have been no public discussions around the purchase and use of an LRAD in Vancouver or British Columbia, no Canadian safety testing of the device, no Canadian approval of the device’s use by any agency independent of Canada’s police services or the weapon manufacturer, and the device has never before been used in a protest scenario by police in Canada.

“On October 22, Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu said that ‘No extraordinary effort will be made to restrict protest because of the Olympics,’ but his force is buying new and untested weapons,” said Holmes. “A City Councillor said that we were out of line for noting the parallels with Beijing, but Vancouver joins China in embracing these devices. The secret purchase and implementation of the LRAD, in conjunction with Vancouver passing a bylaw that suppresses free expression, reduces the credibility of blandishments from city officials about not interfering with lawful and peaceful demonstrations.”

MEDIA CONTACTS:

Robert Holmes, President, BCCLA (604) 681-1310 or (604) 838-6856
David Eby, Executive Director, BCCLA (778) 865-7997

Tags: BCCLA, British Columbia, civil liberties, LRAD, Olympics, police, Vancouver, VPD

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