Ottawa Police Services Board

January 27, 2014

Chief’s Verbal Report

Good evening,

I take the opportunity to highlight some of the important activities of our Service and the excellent work by our Members

Tips sought in Sexual Assault Investigations

Earlier this month, our Service made an appeal to the public for information leading to the arrest of the man responsible for a series of sexual assaults in Ottawa over the past 17 months.  As these cases have come forward, the OPS has kept the public informed with information releases and public safety warnings.

This month we chose to highlight the cases in an attempt to generate tips.  Detectives are following up on those leads now.  Our investigators have been investigating the stranger sexual assaults – which occurred between August 2012 and October 2013 – and now have evidence to connect three cases to one as yet unknown individual.  All female victims were between the ages of 18 and 30 and were walking alone previous to the time of the attacks.  These activities are criminal and they are never the fault of the victim.

Sketches of the suspect and key descriptors have been released.  Investigators regularly review cases to look for connections and, at this time, an additional seven cases are suspected but not confirmed as linked to this individual.

I will continue to update the Board on this investigation.

Cellblock Prisoner Search

In December, an adult prisoner was brought into Central Cellblock on drug related charges.  During the course of the intake, the prisoner was found to be wearing several layers of clothing and was deceptive in his interaction with Cellblock personnel.  During a routine search, Special Constable Kirt Peterson discovered a cleverly concealed knife in the inside the waistband of a second pair of pants the prisoner was wearing.  The location and size of the knife made it difficult to initially locate.  However, Special Constable Peterson’s experience and professional training led him to locate the knife.

Central Cellblock personnel are charged with a duty of care to ensure the safety of all (including prisoners and police personnel) in the cellblock.  It is their professionalism and consistent attention to detail that keeps people safe while they are temporarily detained with our police service.

Mental Health Unit

I would like to highlight an example of the effectiveness of our Mental Health Unit in working with people mental health issues and getting them the help they need.  Just last week members of the unit attended a South End residence to carry out an apprehension order.  The middle-aged subject had a negative history with police and was potentially armed.  A large bull mastiff was also thought to be on the property.  With Tactical and patrol officers and paramedics on standby the unit attempted a “soft” approach and were able to apprehend the man.   A psychiatrist with the unit evaluated the man and concluded the man was not a danger to himself or others and could remain in his home.

He was then provided information and resources, including how to contact the Mental Health Unit, if he needed help with anything in the future.  Having the psychiatrist on scene saved an incredible amount of resources and also ensured the man received the help he needed.

Our Members are often called to deal with people in crisis, whether by the medical community, neighbours or family.  These are amongst the most difficult calls we respond to and we are always searching for new ways to improve our response.  We will be bringing the Board an update on the unit at the next meeting.

Thwarted Suicide Attempt

In the early morning of December 8, the Communications Centre received a call about a suicidal man threatening to jump off the third floor balcony of his Lebreton Avenue apartment.  The original call indicated he was on the balcony of a third floor unit.

Two officers arrived on scene and proceeded to the reported unit and breached the locked door only to find the apartment vacant.  Sgt. Paul McIntyre also arrived on scene and was informed that the male was actually on the balcony of a fourth floor unit.  He arrived at that unit and found the man hanging on the exterior side of the balcony holding the guardrail of the balcony while his wife held onto his shirt.  Sgt. McIntyre pulled the man back onto the balcony.  Afterwards, the man became emotional and was appreciative of the efforts of police in rescuing him.  He was hospitalized following the incident.

School Zone Enforcement Campaign

Our East District Traffic Section conducted a two-day School Enforcement Campaign on January 8 and 9, 2014.  The blitz coincided with the return to school after the Christmas break and covered over 20 schools from all four school boards.  The initiative focused on Highway Traffic Act enforcement and City Bylaws targeting driving offences near school zones and school bus related offences.

As a result of the enforcement, 211 Provincial offences were issued (110 charges and 101 warnings), 29 school buses were monitored for school bus infractions and the highest speed obtained was 41 km/hr. above the speed limit.

Excellent work by DART

On Thursday evening members of our Direct Action Response Team (DART) attended a Baycrest Drive address after receiving information it had been taken over by street gang members who were using it as a base to sell and distribute cocaine.  DART officers arrived on scene and learned a person was forcibly being confined to the apartment by street gang members. 

The DART officers gained entry into the apartment and were immediately confronted by eight (8) males, many who were known to police.  Two of the males were observed to be in possession of loaded handguns in their waistbands.  All eight males were eventually arrested after a short struggle and safely taken into custody.  Drugs, guns, cash and ammunition were seized and many charges have been laid.  Our Members are seeing an increasing number of these occurrences, which usually involve intimidation and assaults on vulnerable members of the community.

I wanted to end on this item because it shows that while we have made progress on our Guns and Gangs file, there is still work to do.  And much of that work is dangerous and difficult.  I think it is important that we recognize the dedication of our Members who work to resolve these situations every day.

Retirements

Finally, I want to mention that two senior officers very familiar to Board members – Supt. Ralph Erfle and Insp. Mike Sanford - are retiring this month.

Ralph is here with us this evening…..Ralph has been a colleague, mentor and friend to so many people in policing and the community. He retires knowing he made a difference and a major contribution.  His roots in community policing go back to his early days with Nepean. He has been a major force in ensuring we remain focused on community policing and evidenced-based problem solving throughout his entire career.  Ralph, thank you so much for your service and we wish you well.

Thank you and I am happy to take any questions you may have.