Police to acquire two additional water cannon

The police force is seeking to purchase two additional water cannon vehicles and other supplies to boost its capacity, it emerged on Tuesday.

The additional water cannon are expected to strengthen the force’s anti-riot capacity during incidents of football fan brawls outside stadiums and other violent group altercations.

The police have also put out tenders for the purchase of 200 vandalism and fire-proof mattresses for the state prisons, valued at €43,000, and are furthermore seeking to acquire three vans worth €135,000.

As for the water cannon, their estimated value is little over half a million euros each, around €1,010,000. The police’s move to add the two vehicles is intended to enable a rapid response to incidents in all districts.

The new vehicles will be stationed in Limassol and Larnaca, and will be deployed to Paphos and Famagusta, respectively.

Currently the single water cannon, dubbed ‘Aiantas’ (Ajax) in Greek, after the Trojan War hero, needs to be sent out from Nicosia to other districts.

The police’s tender includes a call for operator training and maintenance of the two vehicles, which are vandal-proof, non-flammable, and capable of projecting water over a long distance.

The first vehicle was initially deployed to break up anti-corruption and anti-lockdown protesters in Nicosia during the coronavirus pandemic, resulting in a young woman being hit in the eye and suffering permanent damage.

The incident was investigated by the independent authority for allegations and complaints against the police, which found the operators not responsible.