N.S. man removes push bar from decommissioned police car after RCMP receive complaint

A Nova Scotia man has removed equipment, including a push bar, from his decommissioned police vehicle after the RCMP received a complaint about the car.

The RCMP received a report about a decommissioned police car being driven in Annapolis County on May 27.

Police say the vehicle had a push bar attached to the front and “police interceptor” markings on the back.

RCMP investigators met with the owner and told him the items were prohibited under Nova Scotia’s new Police Identity Management Act.

RCMP Cpl. Chris Marshall tells CTV News that the Ford Taurus was, in fact, a decommissioned police vehicle, which the man had purchased and brought in from Ontario.  

Marshall says the car was not an RCMP vehicle, but he isn’t sure which police force it came from.

The RCMP told the man he would be charged if he did not remove the police equipment from the car.

Police say the man went to the Bridgetown RCMP detachment on June 2 and turned in the push bar and police interceptor badge, which will be destroyed by the RCMP.

Marshall says the owner was “very cooperative” with police, is now free to drive the vehicle, and won’t face charges.

POLICE IDENTITY MANAGEMENT ACT

This is the first time the Nova Scotia RCMP have used the province’s new Police Identity Management Act, which came into effect on May 12.

The legislation, which was first introduced in the provincial legislature in March 2021, is the first of its kind in Canada.

It was already a federal crime to impersonate a police officer, but Nova Scotia’s Police Identity Management Act makes it illegal to sell or possess police-issued items, such as uniforms, badges, and patches.

Only serving police officers or persons with police authorization are now permitted to have such items.

The law also prohibits the sale and possession of police-vehicle equipment, such as decals, police radios and computers, and lightbars.

Under the act, police agencies in Nova Scotia must dispose of surplus gear and remove all equipment and markings from decommissioned police vehicles.

Anyone else is being asked to surrender items to their local police department or render them unusable.

According to the act, the only places such gear can be used outside of law enforcement is at museums or as part of a “dramatic work,” such as a film set.

Penalties include fines of up to $10,000 or three months in jail for individuals. A corporation could face a maximum fine of $25,000.

NOVA SCOTIA MASS SHOOTING

The complaint about the decommissioned police vehicle comes at a time when an inquiry is investigating Nova Scotia’s mass shooting.

The Police Identity Management Act was created in direct response to the mass shooting, which claimed the lives of 22 Nova Scotians in April 2020.

The gunman was driving a fully-marked replica RCMP car, which he created from a decommissioned police vehicle purchased at an auction. He also purchased a number of surplus police items online.

At the time, it wasn’t illegal for Gabriel Wortman to own those items. Now, under the act, the ownership of police items can be reported to authorities and charges can be laid.

The families of his 22 victims have said the law should be applied across the country.