Brandon Transit is, once again, pleased to provide New Year’s Eve revellers a safe, FREE ride as they ring in the New Year at festivities across Brandon on December 31st. From 6 p.m. on Tuesday, Dec. 31st (New Year’s Eve) to 3 a.m. on Wednesday, Jan. 1st (New Year’s Day), Brandon Transit will run its buses on a regular modified (hourly) service. During those hours, it will be free to get on or off the bus at any regular route’s designated stops. Please note that following the end of this free service at 3 a.m., regular Brandon Transit Service is not offered on New Year’s Day. This is the ninth consecutive year Brandon Transit has offered its free New Year’s Eve Ride Program in the community, a service which wouldn’t be possible without program sponsor, Manitoba Public Insurance. Brandon Transit also thanks this year’s local media partners, 96.1 BOB FM/Pure Country 101.1 and the Brandon Sun, for their extra assistance in promoting this important public service to the community. To plan your NYE travel route or for more information on Brandon Transit’s regular modified service routes, visit www.brandontransit.ca.

Source: Brandon Police Service Media Release At 1110 pm, Friday evening police attended a disturbance in the 3100 block of McDonald Ave. It was learned that a 28-year-old Brandon female had assaulted her cousin by striking her with a bottle. The victim was treated and released at BRHC for a cut over her eye. The accused was lodged at BCC and will be released when sober to appear in court in February. While in attendance at the previous call, police stopped a cab and discovered that the passenger, a 31-year-old Brandon male was wanted on an unendorsed warrant for assault. The male was also found to be intoxicated in violation of his court ordered condition to abstain from the consumption of alcohol. He was lodged at BCC and will appear in court in the morning.

A quick rundown of what’s going on, and where, in Brandon on New Years Eve.  Plenty of available options for those looking to head out and have some fun including family activities at The Dock on Princess and T-Birds. Click individual poster for additional information on that businesses plans. Please note that additional events may be added if we receive submissions from those not already listed.

Source: Brandon Police Service Media Release On December 19, 2019, following information provided by the National Child Exploitation Unit, police obtained a warrant to search a Brandon residence. During the search, our Forensic Computer Analyst located images of child pornography on a device within the residence. All the electronic devices within the residence were seized to be further examined. A 25-year-old male was arrested and will appear in court on February 13, 2020 on a charge of Possess Child Porn.

The Brandon Police Service are the owners of a brand new armoured rescue vehicle (ARV) that will be used for high risk incidents in Brandon, and southwestern Manitoba. Brandon Police, along with other police forces across southwestern Manitoba will have this new vehicle at their disposal in cases of high risk incidents. Sporting a lifted chassis, armor, roof-mounted camera, and emergency lighting/siren among other features, this vehicle will allow law enforcement to better handle high risk situations, which may include victim recovery from "the hot zone". Brandon Police Chief Wayne Balcaen says, "We will be able to deploy this rescue vehicle within the region in a very timely manner, which will increase community and officer safety." Chief Balcaen goes on to say, "In 2018, our police service deployed the Emergency Response Team 14 times, and 6 times in 2019, which is still triple our historic average of 2 deployments per year." The new truck is operationally ready for deployment, however, training and familiarization of officers will continue into 2020. Photos by Liam Pattison Photography.