The police chief in Chatham-Kent is concerned about recent assaults on his officers.
Chief Gary Conn said there's no good reason for them, adding officers are trained to deal with aggressive and violent individuals.
"There are a multitude of reasons and variables which may occur or factor into why a person may commit the offence of assaulting a police officer," Chief Conn said. "That being said, there is no definitive reason as to why assaults on police officers occur or the frequency, except that they ebb and flow and unfortunately do occur in our occupation."
At least five police officers in Chatham-Kent have been assaulted this month alone, according to police. The latest assault involved a 26-year-old man allegedly kicking, head-butting, and spitting at police officers in Chatham on February 12, 2022.
Chief Conn said public and officer safety are always primary concerns. He said police officers receive significant self defence training right from the start during basic training at the Ontario Police College. Conn said officers also continue to get provincially-mandated defensive tactics training and other officer safety training when they requalify every year.
Chief Conn added the annual training includes crisis intervention and de-escalation techniques, and "open and closed dynamic scenarios" to ensure that if force is required during an arrest to control a combative person, then only as much force as is necessary is applied to achieve that purpose.
Assaulting a police officer can land a person in jail for up to five years upon conviction.
