Latest bear spray incidents highlights issues facing Winnipeg

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People being sprayed with bear spray by a couple of teenagers on a Sunday afternoon while navigating the Winnipeg Transit sums up a lot about the problems plaguing the city.

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On Monday, the Winnipeg Police Department issued a news release about a report of bear spray being used on a bus near Sargent Avenue and Empress Street just after 3 p.m

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Police say a group was traveling by bus when seven people, ranging in age from 12 to 60, were sprayed – including the bus driver. The suspects ran and went to a store on the Empress, where they sprayed three other people.

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Then, just before 6 p.m., General Patrol officers received a call to the Magnus Eliason Recreation Center on Langside Street for another report of bear spray use. A 22-year-old employee was sprayed and an 18-year-old was punched in the face.

When the youths were arrested, police found four cans of bear spray. According to police, the accused 16-year-old lied about his name but was later identified and spat in an officer’s face. The teenager also had an outstanding arrest warrant for failing to comply with a dismissal order.

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Another teenager, a 15-year-old boy, faces 11 counts of assault with a weapon, one count of assault, possession of a gun and two counts of breaching a condition of an obligation. He also had an outstanding warrant for his non-appearance in court.

Eventually, 11 people were sprayed with bear spray and treated by the Winnipeg Fire Paramedic Service.

Police found no motive behind the attacks and all of the victims were unknown to the suspects.

It’s not often that a single press release can summarize so much and reflect a microcosm of the situation in Winnipeg.

We’ve received calls from the Manitoba government to make it harder for those using bear spray to get bail. The Sun reported in September 2022 that bear spray use has increased over the past five years. In 2021, the Winnipeg Police Service recorded an increase of 46.4% over the previous five-year average and 18.8% over 2020.

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Many have called for bail reform to end what many are calling a “catch and release” justice system. There are certainly some advantages to this, and perhaps some changes can be made to prevent violent criminals from taking to the streets.

There’s also the issue of transit security, recently announced by Mayor Scott Gillingham, which is being addressed in part by a $5 million security team. Would the attack on the bus on Sunday be prevented by a security team? This is up for debate, as the people hired cannot always sit on every single bus.

Add to that the fact that the suspects charged were a couple of teenagers. People will, of course, be quick to blame their parents since they themselves were raised by their parents in a cozy suburban home.

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How many times will this stuff continue to happen before a change is made? There are only so many words and so many opinions that can be forgotten before we throw our hands in the air.

Jailing more people will not solve the problem, nor will it put police on every street corner.

The current system is not working, throwing money or resources at it will not solve the problem. We need to open the space for creative out-of-the-box solutions that may have been discarded in the past.

There are smart people out there who probably have the solution – or at least could help. We have to listen to them.

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Twitter: @steltsy94

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