'Immediate crisis': EPS chief rushing more officers into downtown Edmonton
After outlining a violent 24 hours in downtown Edmonton, the city's police chief promised Thursday to scramble more officers into the core faster than previously planned.
"We can’t wait. This will start next week,” Chief Dale McFee told police commissioners at City Hall.
"Two people lost their lives, and there's a whole bunch of other serious stuff in relation to that."
McFee listed suspicious deaths in Chinatown, "a brazen shooting outside a pub" and a stabbing at an LRT station, which all occurred Wednesday night or early Thursday morning, as reasons for his response.
There was also a death at a homeless camp which was later deemed non-criminal and an injury collision that McFee said all had to be handled to downtown officers.
“We are going to move a bunch of resources around. We’re going to have to figure out how we’re going to pay for this.”
McFee was repeatedly asked how many officers would be moved but he said specifics are still being worked out.
“You will see an increased visual presence in our downtown, including the core, Chinatown and 118 Avenue. We will seek increased collaboration with transit and other community peace officers if possible, but we will be going on our own if we have to,” he announced.
McFee apologized to other parts of Edmonton and said some neighbourhoods "aren't going to get (services) for a while."
'AN ISSUE OF THEIR OWN INACTION': JANZ
On Wednesday, Edmonton city councillors moved forward on freezing base funding for police, a move the commission chair said would amount to a $22 million cut.
McFee suggested he needs more money and expressed frustration at the possibility he may be in line for a frozen base budget.
“While we can address the immediate crisis of our downtown, this is not sustainable. We can maintain it for a few months, but beyond that it’ll risk too many negative impacts in other areas of the city," he said.
"We need to remove the politics and have some constructive discussions on how to move forward. We all have a role. Frankly, the discussions being had at the political level right now, are not helpful.”
McFee's comments were immediately criticized by Ward Papastew Coun. Michael Janz.
"The EPS leadership look to be trying to solve an issue of their own inaction," he tweeted in response.
"Crime is going down but 19.1% of calls are coming from downtown and they only assigned a fraction of resources. Like EPS did for LRT. The Mayor wrote the police a letter asking about downtown resources allocation and I will share the response when I receive it."
Mayor Amarjeet Sohi expressed condolences to the victims Thursday in a statement to CTV News Edmonton.
"I am devastated to hear of the violent attacks that happened in Edmonton’s Chinatown last night, leaving two valued community members dead," he wrote.
"I have heard Chinatown’s calls for increased safety measures, and will be working with the community and EPS to find immediate solutions, following my motion that passed on Monday to allocate funding and resources to Chinatown and the downtown core."
Sohi encouraged anyone affected by the attacks to reach out to Canadian Mental Health Services Canada for support.
McFee mentioned he may reach out to the province for more money, but he did not put a dollar figure or timeline on that.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Which Canadian cities have the highest and lowest grocery prices?
Where you live plays a big factor in what you pay at the grocery store. And while it's no secret the same item may have a different price depending on the store, city or province, we wanted to see just how big the differences are, and why.
'State or state-sponsored actor' believed to be behind B.C. government hacks
The head of British Columbia’s civil service has revealed that a “state or state-sponsored actor” is behind multiple cyber-security incidents against provincial government networks.
Swarm of 20,000 bees gather around woman’s car west of Toronto
A swarm of roughly 20,000 bees gathered around a woman’s car in the parking lot of Burlington Centre.
Mother assaulted by stranger while breastfeeding baby in her car: Vancouver police
A person was arrested in East Vancouver Thursday after allegedly entering a car while a mother was breastfeeding her four-month-old boy.
More than half the Canadians once detained in Syrian camps for suspected ISIS family members have returned home
A total of 29 Canadians have been freed from detention camps in northeast Syria and brought back to Canada since human rights advocates began lobbying for their release years ago.
Rare severe solar storm Friday could bring spectacular aurora light show across Canada
A rare and severe solar storm is expected to bring spectacular displays of the northern lights, also known as aurora borealis, across much of Canada and parts of the United States on Friday night.
Canada abstains from Palestinian UN membership vote but supports two-state solution
Canada was one of 25 countries that abstained from a United Nations vote on Palestinian membership that passed with overwhelming support on Friday.
Amish youth experience a rite of passage called Rumspringa. It’s not what you might think
The idea of “Rumspringa” has a specific spot in the American imagination. A rite of passage for young people in some Amish communities, Rumspringa is seen by most outsiders as a wild time away from strict Amish rules, when teenagers can experiment with the modern vices of the world.
Djokovic needs medical attention after getting knocked on the head by a water bottle at Italian Open
Novak Djokovic needed medical attention after apparently getting knocked on the head by a water bottle after a win at the Italian Open on Friday.