Edmonton police delete 'inappropriate' post celebrating K9 takedown of naked man
Bender, a dog with the EPS Canine Unit. (Source: EPS)
The Edmonton Police Service has deleted a Facebook post that it said “does not reflect the empathetic approach” that is expected of officers.
The post detailed the arrest of a naked man, who was accused of breaking in to an Edmonton Home Depot store on Christmas Eve. The post didn’t specify which store.
“The shopper broke a window to get in, annnnnd was also completely naked for some reason…and had no way to pay for the all the power tools he was carrying,” the Dec. 25 post read.
Police said the man attempted to run away, and that’s when a canine cop named Bender was sent after him.
“Anyway Bender did what Bender does best and was able to catch up the last minute shopper and arrest him,” the post from the Edmonton Police Canine Unit said.
The post was criticized for being insensitive and mocking the man.
“This sounds like a person who is clearly having a mental health crisis, and instead of offering care or support, EPS decided to release a dog that has been trained to be a weapon,” community organizer Batul Gulamhusein wrote on Twitter.
“Defund the Edmonton Police Service,” she added.
An EPS spokesperson confirmed the post was deleted, but Scott Pattison said he didn’t know who wrote it or if the author would be disciplined.
“The post was inappropriate and does not reflect the empathetic approach that our Service strives to achieve within our community on a daily basis,” Pattison said in a statement to CTV News Edmonton.
“I can confirm that the members involved with that unit’s social media accounts have previously undergone social media training. I can tell you the incident is under review.”
A local lawyer also had unanswered questions about the arrest.
“How badly did you injure this distressed man? Did you get Edmonton Police authorization for this mocking posting?” Tom Engel asked on Twitter. “A deplorable Christmas message.”
The Facebook page where the post appeared was still active Tuesday, and was still sharing arrest accounts to its nearly 7,000 followers.
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