By Angela Gemmill

Dealing with nuisance bear calls does not fall within the duties of the Greater Sudbury Police Services, with the exception of emergency response.

Some residents are upset police officers were forced to shoot and kill three bears yesterday in two separate nuisance bear incidents.

Police Chief Paul Pederson explains in the first case the bear got aggressive while officers were waiting for MNR to respond.

He says officers are not equipped not do they have the ability to tranquilize, trap or relocate bears, but when a bear threatens public safety police have no choice but to dispatch the animal.

Pederson says the MNR was not available to respond in the second case, since it was after hours, so police killed the two bears.

He reminds critics that the sow and her cub were destroying the inside of the home and thankfully no occupants were home at the time.

He says officers try to get the bears to relocate peacefully back to their natural habitat first, but if public safety is in jeopardy, they will dispatch the animals.

With over 700 bear calls to police this year, Pederson says this is a complex issue the police and ministry are working together to find a solution for.