Nova Scotia Premier Stephen McNeil.
Nova Scotia’s premier says the sale of decommissioned police vehicles and vehicles designed to look like police vehicles should be banned.
An Antigonish man was arrested for impersonating a police officer Wednesday.
Police say the man may have used his mock police cruiser to pull over vehicles in Antigonish Co. and the Halifax area.
Stephen McNeil says it brings back chilling memories of the Portapique massacre in April.
“We’ve seen the tragic consequences of people who try to impersonate a law enforcement officer,” he says. “The last thing that we need is more people who are out there impersonating police officers.”
He says the province’s justice minister is looking into legislation to limit access to decommissioned and lookalike police cruisers.
McNeil says we cannot have people undermining police confidence.
“This is the second time that we’ve seen someone use a police car,” he says. “If we’re being pulled over, I’m sure it’s going to go through our minds, ‘is this really a police officer?’”
McNeil says this kind of irresponsible behaviour needs to stop.
Late Thursday, the federal government moved to suspend the sale of surplus or retired police vehicles indefinitely.
The moratorium is temporary, however, a date was not given on when it will be lifted. During this time, the federal government and the RCMP will discuss how to handle police vehicle sales going forward.
