Kwesst Micro Systems (KWE.V) ARWEN system was deployed in Ottawa to fend off aggressive protesters over the weekend.
ARWEN stands for “Anti Riot Weapon Enfield,” and it caused a bit of a media stir. But if you look at the data surrounding it: no deaths, and the police stated they know of no injuries, then you need to recognize that this tech is the real deal.
“It is always challenging for authorities to deal in a measured way with protesters when they turn aggressive, especially in a major high-profile incident that has attracted world attention. Our goal is to protect life on both sides. We are therefore pleased to hear reports of a safe conclusion to this incident, which is precisely the intended purpose of the ARWEN system,” according to Greg Sullivan, a former police officer and trainer.
The ARWEN fires multiple different types of anti-riot munitions including the blunt impact “baton” round used in Ottawa to stun an aggressive target without doing any serious harm. This isn’t the first time this system has been used either, as the ARWEN system gets regular use throughout North America and overseas and carries an excellent safety record.
Strange days have found us in Canada.
Ottawa and other places in Ontario have been host to scenes normally viewed on our televisions from the comfort of our living rooms.
Protests aren’t anything new to Canada. There’s a sub-section of mostly university students that regularly get inflamed by their first first opening spate of political science courses and flirt with ideologies like Marxism and feminism. They have their period of high dudgeon and then for most it fades into the background as the realities of making a living assert themselves.
Lately, though, protests have more been the purview of the worker, which historically isn’t anything new. Mostly these protests have been peaceful, if not disruptive. But disruption is the nature of protest and as long as a protest remains peaceful, then it enjoys certain legal protections. It’s when pockets of violence breaks out that police need to step in and for those we have technologies designed to pacify, to deter and to protect.
And that’s apparently what’s happened.
According to most international news outlets over the past week, law enforcement on site have had to use ARWEN to stop demonstrators from getting violent, and nobody was seriously hurt. Naturally there’s going to be an investigation by the Ontario Special Investigation Unit (SIU), which is mandatory whenever police use a firearm, regardless of outcome.
—Joseph Morton
