Sheriff's officers start carrying guns at New Brunswick courthouses

Sheriff's officers at New Brunswick courthouses begancarrying firearms on Thursday.

The controversial move, which comes on the heels of an incident in a Maniwaki, Que., courthousethat saw a teenager shot in the head after an altercation,is part of the province's three-year plan to arm its sheriffs and security officers.

In the summer, afew dozen traffic enforcement officers were the first to be allowed to carry guns, after the Department of Justice and Public Safety received the results of a job risk assessment.

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According to the department, 36 sheriff's officers, or about one in four right now, have been trained to use guns, but thenumber will increase every month with new training sessions.

The New Brunswick Union, which represents sheriff's officers, said members are split 50-50 about whether they feel safer carryinga gun, or just don't see a need for one.

So far, the government has leftit up to the officers themselves to decide if they want to get the firearm.

But that won't be the case for new hires, for whom it will bemandatory to go through a two-weekintensive training at the Atlantic Police Academy in P.E.I., and five days of additional training in Moncton, to use a semi-automatic 40-calibreSig Sauerpistol.

Teen in coma

Wednesday, an altercation between an18-year-old man and a special constable in a Quebec courthouse hallway ended with the teenshot in the head, a horrifying incident that has put the teen into a coma.

The fight began when the teen, who had just been handed a six-month jail sentence, asked for a smoke break and was told he couldn't take one.

WARNING: Courthouse shooting video contains disturbing images, language

7 years ago

Duration 2:06

Quebec's police watchdog is investigating a shooting at the courthouse in Maniwaki, Que., in which an 18-year-old man was seriously injured. The video has been blurred by CBC News.

In New Brunswick, armed sheriffs would not be allowed in courtrooms, or even hallways onlyin courthousesentrances.

Still, according to St. Thomas University criminology professorMichael Boudreau, the Quebec case is a perfect example of how things can escalate when firearms are introduced.

"Their first reaction was to go for their firearm, and that always leads to tragedy," Boudreausaid.

"Without proper training initially, and then ongoing training for sheriffs, an incident like that could happen in New Brunswick. And that is a tragedy that I think all parties would want to avoid."

No real reason

Boudreau said the province has given no real explanation why it felt sheriff's officers need to be armed.

"I'm dumbfounded," he said. "I have not been aware of any heightened risk. There haven't been any serious incidents where sheriffs could have used firearms to protect either themselves, or the public. I'm not certain why this need at this particular time."

Boudreau believes the fact only 50 per cent of sheriffs were in favour ofwearing firearms is an indication the province's plan wasn't well thought out.

"That begs the question if the other half feels that they can perform their duties without a firearm, then this isn't a reason to bring them on board."

The province isn't saying much about the reasons behind the move, only that it was the conclusion of a risk assessment.

''[It]demonstrated that sidearms are necessary in the execution of some duties for the safety of officers and the people they serve," said a department spokesperson.

"They said there was a study done and this istheresult, not the why,'' saidSusieProulx-Daigle, union president, who was told in the spring of the province's plan.

"I think time will tell."

The province estimates the cost of armingsafety officers at about $300,000over three years.