'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
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'