Two officers, a man, police service dog bear sprayed in Regina, man arrested

Three people and a police service dog are all recovering after being sprayed with bear spray on Friday.

This happened on the 1200 block of Elphinstone Street just before 11 a.m. Police were called to a report of a weapons offence involving bear spray.

When police arrived, they found a man who had been sprayed. He was taken to hospital for treatment.

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Officers found the suspect close by. When approached by police, he ran.

Officers followed on foot for a short distance, then the suspect sprayed one of the officers with bear spray.

The suspect ran into the front yard of a home in the 1200 block of McTavish Street, just four blocks west, where officers, including members of the Canine Unit, made another attempt to arrest the man.

Here, another officer and a Police Service Dog were sprayed.

But the dog was able to stop the suspect, who also suffered a bite during the arrest.  He was taken to hospital.

The two police officers and the service dog were treated for their bear spray-related injuries.

A 20-year-old man was arrested and given a handful of charges, including assault with a weapon and injuring a law enforcement animal.

He will make his first court appearance in Regina Provincial Court on Monday.

What is bear spray?

Bear spray is a deterrent containing capsaicin, a chemical found in chili peppers. The canister releases a cone-shaped cloud of spray at a speed of over 100 km/h, approximately 10 m away. Capsaicin inflames the eyes and respiratory system of both animals and humans.

According to bearwise.org, the spray is oil-based, so first aid for the bear spray is to wash off the residue with soap and water, don’t rub your eyes or nose, and rinse your eyes with clean water until the irritation subsides. The effects generally wear off in about 45 minutes, the bear awareness site says.

Late last year, the provincial government announced new regulations aiming to reduce the number of criminal incidents involving bear spray.

The changes include regulations to restrict the possession of bear spray in public urban spaces and a ban on altering bear spray to hide or disguise the product’s identity. Anyone charged under the new regulations could face fines of up to $100,000.

According to the provincial government, police in Saskatchewan have responded to over 3,000 bear spray incidents over the last five years, but the total number of incidents involving bear spray could be much higher when factoring in unreported cases.

— with files from CKOM news