``Less lethal'' guns that fire plastic bullets have been added to the
RCMP arsenal to deal with protesters at the upcoming Summit of the
Americas in Quebec city.
.

Summit police to get plastic bullets
Martin Patriquin
STAFF REPORTER
www.thestar.com
``Less lethal'' guns that fire plastic bullets have been added to the RCMP arsenal to deal with protesters at the upcoming Summit of the
Americas in Quebec city. But those weapons are powerful enough to crack ribs and cause extreme pain, according to those who have used them.

The Anti Riot Weapon Enfield, or Arwen 37, is described as ``the first multi-purpose, multi-shot weapon system to combine
lightweight, high accuracy and the ability to fire up to five shots before reloading'' by its Canadian distributor, Police Ordnance
Company.

The weapon was approved for use by the force last summer, and the RCMP has placed ``a very substantial order'' for the guns several
months ago according to Police Ordnance president Brian Kirkey. The force would not divulge exactly how many of the guns were ordered. The RCMP tactical force and its SWAT team will be equipped with the
Arwen 37 at the Quebec City Summit in April, said a spokesperson for the Mounties. Although several Canadian police emergency task forces already use the Arwen, it is believed this is the first time the
RCMP will be equipped with the weapon.
``The Arwen 37 was approved for our emergency response teams in our
continuing effort to resolve confrontational situations with a minimal amount of force,'' RCMP Sergeant Paul Marsh said.
``It is a tool at the disposal of our tactical team and I would imagine they will have them (in Quebec city),'' he added. RCMP tactical squads from across the country, along with other police forces, will converge on Quebec City. The Quebec provincial police force also has bought new Arwens and 2,000 rounds of ammunition in preparation for the summit.
The Arwen 37 relies on severe pain to subdue a target. It is classified as a ``less lethal'' weapon that ``has less potential for
causing death than conventional police weapons,'' said Marsh. And it gets the job done. ``If it hits someone in a rib, it is meant to crack a rib and put them in a lot of pain,'' said Toronto police Constable Bob Leighton,
who helps train the force's Emergency Task Force.

Tactical squads are usually required to test such less-lethal weapons - such as Tasers, which deliver electric shocks - on themselves. But Leighton said it would be ``too dangerous'' to do so with the Arwen. `It is meant to cracka rib and put them in a lot of pain'. The Arwen 37 fires a round 15 centimetres (six inches) in length and 3.7 cm (1* inches) wide. The plastic slug emerges from the muzzle at
74 metres per second, or about 160 miles per hour. ``It is equivalent to getting hit by a fastball,'' Kirkey said. The Arwen 37 can also fire tear gas and smoke rounds, and has the
ability to five rounds in four seconds with what's considered 100 per cent accuracy from 20 metres. The gun can also fire special penetrating ammunition that will go
through car windshields, double-pane windows and doors. "It will hit an adult-size torso at 100 metres with an accuracy
appropriate for its size and use,'' Kirkey said.
Designed by Royal Ordnance, a division of British Aerospace, in the late 1960s, the weapon was meant to subdue rioters in Northern Ireland without killing them. Officers using them are trained to aim for the torso, though the hit can be disastrous if they miss their mark. A 19-year-old man was critically injured during the 1994 Stanley Cup
hockey riots in Vancouver when he was hit in the head by a plastic bullet fired from an Arwen 37. Police Ordnance Company, based in Markham, will be North America's sole producer and manufacturer of the Arwen 37 by the fall.