Internal investigation launched after cop suffers frostbite during training

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This article was published 16/02/2016 (3611 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

A workplace health and safety investigation has begun after a Winnipeg police officer suffered severe frostbite during a training exercise in frigid temperatures last week.

Officers were participating in firearms training for about half an hour Friday – in temperatures that dipped near -30 C – before a group of them were taken to hospital to be treated for frostbite.

One officer’s frostbite was so severe that he may lose his fingers, Winnipeg Police Association president Maurice Sabourin said Tuesday.

An internal police service workplace safety and health investigation into the matter is ongoing to find out what happened. 

The officer is on leave for being injured on duty and is expected to file a workplace compensation claim, Sabourin said.

“It was a training exercise. It wasn’t a situation where an officer was pinned down in the cold or standing on a point for an extended period of time,” Sabourin said, adding training would usually be postponed or moved inside because of inclement weather.

“Without the full details of the investigation, it’s hard to come to a conclusion just yet,” he added, saying this is the first time a Winnipeg police officer has been this badly hurt during training.

“It’s a concern that it happened during training. Like I said, it’s not a situation where a member can’t leave… this was a situation where they should be able to either discontinue the training or modify the training or allow the members to go back inside to warm up,” Sabourin said.

The police association will be closely monitoring the workplace safety and health committee’s investigation, he said.

“Hopefully some recommendations will come out of this that will prevent this from ever happening again.”

A spokesman for Mayor Brian Bowman said he was sorry to hear about the incident and directed all questions about police policies and training practices to the police board.

Police board chairman Coun. Scott Gillingham said he wasn’t aware of the incident, but said the board will want to know the outcome of the WPS workplace, safety and health investigation.

“The board will be interested to know if there is a policy in place and if that policy was followed,” Gillingham (St. James-Brooklands-Weston) said. “I wish the officer well and I hope the officer makes a full recovery.”

The Winnipeg Police Service has declined to comment on the matter.

 katie.may@freepress.mb.ca