Staff at Swan River radio station begin night patrols after break-in attempts, threat

Staff at a radio station in Swan River, Man., say they're taking matters into their own hands after dealing with several attempted break-ins and a threat they say police are not taking seriously.

But both the RCMP and the town's mayor say the actions proposed by the station are unacceptable.

In a social media post published Friday night, CJ104 said it had received an anonymous threat to burn the station down, which was preceded by a rash of break-ins and break-in attempts.

As a result, staff have been patrolling the area in the station's vehicles due to "the lack of police presence in Swan River," the post said.

The Facebook post goes on to say that the station has made the decision "that any patrols or overnight occupancy efforts will include at least one member who is licensed to carry firearms."

"This is not a decision we take lightly," the post said.

"We assure you that any such efforts will be within the scope of the appropriate firearms laws."

The post also said that if anything happens that makes the station's staff feel their lives are in danger, "they have been instructed to use lethal means" to end the threat.

Staff frustrated and scared
Bill Gade, who runs the radio station, says his staff are frustrated and scared, and feel like the police aren't protecting them.

In one of the attempted break-ins, Gade said, someone cut the power and phone lines at the station.

"When we have staff and someone's trying to break into the building … I don't know what that person's intentions are," he said.

"I have to suspect these people have something more than just breaking in for the fun of it."

Asked if his staff will be patrolling the town while carrying firearms, Gade said that's not what the post was implying.

"No one ever said that. We said someone would have a licence," he said.

The post was still on the station's Facebook page as of 1 p.m. Saturday.

Risk to public safety, RCMP says
RCMP spokesperson Robert Cyrenne said Swan River RCMP became aware of the post Friday night and immediately contacted the station "to explain that promoting this type of armed vigilante activity is not acceptable."

If the station's staff are caught engaging in such an activity, they will be stopped by RCMP as it is a clear risk to public safety, he said.

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