Waterloo, Guelph, Brantford police don't issue assault gloves

Police in Waterloo Region, Guelph and Brantford say they don't issue so-called "assault gloves" to their members and they will comply with a review ordered by Ontario's minister responsible for law enforcement agencies looking at whether the gloves should be considered officially sanctioned police weapons.

Questions are being raised about the gloveseversince they became the subject of a CBC News investigation that linked their use to the death of 37-year-oldAbdirahman Abdi, who died during anencounter with Ottawa police last summer.

• Deadly weapon? Ottawa police assault gloves scrutinized after officer charged in death

Ottawa Police Cst. DanielMontsionis facing charges ofmanslaughter, aggravated assault and assault with a weapon in connection with Abdi's death.

The story prompted a response from Ontario Community Safety Minister Marie-France Lalonde, who ordered a review of the gloves to determine how many police agencies issue them and whether they should be considered an officially sanctioned weapon for police in Ontario.

• Minister asks Ontario police services to audit use of reinforced gloves

'They will not be using them'

Among Waterloo, Guelph and Brantfordpolice services, it appears officers in Brantford are taking the strongest position on the gloves, telling officers they are not to carry or use them under any circumstances.

"We do not supply our members with those gloves," saidBrantfordPolice spokesman Acting Inspector Scott Williams.

"Just to ensure that any of our members may have purchased them on their own, we're doing a self-audit and making them aware they are not to have them whatsoever."

"It doesn't fall within our use of force options," Williams said."If any of our members have them, they will not be using them."

Glove usequestioned by police

The Guelph Police Service is also actively discouraging its officers from using the gloves in the field, according to spokesmanCst. Bryan Dean.

"We don't issue them," he said. "That stuff has never been issued by our police service."

Dean said while the gloves and their use have only started gaining traction as a thorny issue in the public eye, internally, the Guelph Police Servicehasbeen questioning their use for some time.

"We always have this ongoing conversation in policing about what's issued and what you're wearing," he said."I just had a conversation with one of our training branch guys about these particular gloves that they're out there and to start educating the guys."

Like their colleagues in Brantford and Guelph, police in Waterloo Region will also be taking a second look at assault gloves.

"The Waterloo Regional Police Service does not issue these items to our members," Inspector Michael Haffner wrote in an email to CBC News.

"If the Community Safety Minister requests information from our service, we would welcome it, and comply with any audit."