REGINA --The Regina Police Service’s Tactical Rescue Vehicle has been in service for a year.

The armoured vehicle – known as “Rescue One” – features bulletproof walls and glass as well as run-flat tires, which help keep officers safe in dangerous situations.

“One of its main focuses is officer assist and rescue, so if there’s a case where an officer goes down or a citizen needs to be rescued, we can pull this up, utilize it like a shield and rescue that person in a safe manner,” Sgt. Casey Ward with the RPS’ SWAT unit said.

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The vehicle is effective in negotiation scenarios, the unit can pull right up to a building, shine bright lights and use an infrared camera to see what’s happening inside.

“Really the ability to get as close to a structure and get quick communication with the suspects is the best tool that thing has on it,” Ward said.

Ward has been a member of the RPS SWAT unit for 15 years. When he first started, he says they were called out around ten times per year. With an increase to about 35 calls a year, a vehicle that could make its way down Regina’s narrow streets and keep officers safe became a necessity.

Prior to adding Rescue One to their fleet, at a cost of $350,000, the RPS had to borrow an armoured vehicle from the RCMP.

“We actually had a call October 2017 where some of our officers were responding for a call for service, were shot at and we actually had some officers pinned down and at that point, we didn’t have our own rescue vehicle and in order to borrow it from RCMP, it took usually about an hour to get that vehicle, so a few of our SWAT officers had to use their bodies as a shield, rescue the officers that were down and then we were able to get the rescue vehicle and pull it up in front of the stronghold,” Ward said.

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The vehicle has also cut down on response times and allows officers to stay safer when approaching a stand-off with guns involved – which is becoming more common.

“As a team leader, it’s nice knowing that you have that extra protection when you are rolling up so that if for some reason someone does shoot at you, like we have been, you know that you are protected,” Ward said. “If ever an officer or citizen in this city does get injured that we can immediately deploy this vehicle and get that person to medical attention in a matter of minutes.”

The Regina Police Service says it would rather not need to use Rescue One, but when it does, it’s glad it’s there to protect those who protect us.