Saskatoon police responded to 10 bear spray incidents over long weekend

Police in Saskatoon responded to 10 calls involving bear spray over the Family Day Long Weekend.

In one of the incidents described by police, officers were called to a liquor store on 22nd Street West at around 1 a.m. on Saturday after three youths allegedly tried to steal alcohol from the business.

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“When confronted by staff, the suspects deployed bear spray toward the employees before fleeing on foot,” the Saskatoon Police Service said in a statement.

On Saturday evening, officers were called to a mall on Eighth Street East for a report that “a large group of people had deployed bear spray.” Police said two groups both sprayed the irritant at each other as they were running through the mall.

“When officers arrived, the suspects and victims had fled,” the police service noted. “No other occupants required medical attention.”

Police did not name the mall, but the address given by police corresponds with the Centre Mall.

On Monday, officers were called to a shopping mall in the city’s downtown core at around noon for a report that a security guard had been sprayed while escorting a group of four people out of the shopping centre.

Police once again did not name the mall, but the address corresponds with Midtown, which has been the site of numerous bear spray incidents in recent months.

In that case, the group was arrested a short distance away from the mall by police.

“Two individuals were found to have bear spray in their possession while a third had a collapsible baton,” police noted.

“Four suspects, ranging in age from 15 to 17-years-old, were all charged with weapons-related offences. The 16-year-old was also charged with Assault with a Weapon. A 15-year-old was subsequently released without charges.”

Bear spray is a deterrent containing capsaicin, a chemical found in chili peppers. The canister releases a cone-shaped cloud of spray to a distance of approximately 10 m and at a speed of over 100 km/h. 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 lessons. Effects generally wear off in about 45 minutes, the bear awareness site says.Earlier this 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 in order 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.