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Topic: RCMP don't respond to 911 call

fern hill
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3582

posted 28 July 2005 11:16 PM

This makes me want to shriek : CBC site.

A history of repeated 'domestic violence' calls, a man with a long, long criminal record. Woman calls 911, nobody shows up. Woman found dead.

From: away | Registered: Jan 2003 | IP: Logged

Michelle
Moderator
Babbler # 560

posted 28 July 2005 11:23 PM

Oh yes, I'm sure they're doing "a complete internal investigation". Don't call us, we'll call you.

From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001 | IP: Logged

NWOntarian
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 9295

posted 29 July 2005 01:05 AM

That article is woefully incomplete compared to what was shown CBC last night. This is actually the third time it's happened, but I can't find the links right now.

I think this is the second time in Alberta. The third was in Winnipeg were a woman and her friend were murdered by the woman's boyfriend after the RCMP didn't show.

And I could be wrong, but I think that in all the cases, the victims were Aboriginal. Where that article says that the children were wondering why this happened, in the CBC news piece they specifically raised the question of whether the RCMP didn't show because of their mother's ethnicity. Seems this is partly a feminist issue and partly a racism one.

Oh, and if I recall correctly, the news piece last night said that the police not only didn't respond in time, but they didn't show up for DAYS.

From: London, ON | Registered: May 2005 | IP: Logged

fern hill
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3582

posted 29 July 2005 11:25 AM

From the Edmonton Sun: The RCMP were going to release a complete report on this on March 3, but the Roszko shooting happened, so the release was put off. Huh? Isn't it now about 5 months later? Where is this report?

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Farmageddon
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 9572

posted 29 July 2005 11:33 AM

Actualy, the incident in Winnipeg did not involve the RCMP. The Winnipeg police force and the 911 call center were to blame for that one.

From: The seventh ring of a watery hell... | Registered: Jun 2005 | IP: Logged

fern hill
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3582

posted 29 July 2005 11:35 AM

I'm talking about the Brenda Moreside murder.

From: away | Registered: Jan 2003 | IP: Logged

jeff house
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 518

posted 29 July 2005 11:40 AM

Apparently the man she called in about had been convicted of second degree murder previously, and had served his time.

One would think that they would have had some notation of that on their database.

Here in Toronto, when someone calls 911, the police show up even if the phone is immediately hung up, and there is no "report" received. The mere fact that a call was made is deemed sufficient to cause an investigation to begin.

From: toronto | Registered: May 2001 | IP: Logged

oldgoat
Moderator
Babbler # 1130

posted 29 July 2005 11:45 AM

Actually, if you whack the phone pad with your fist, or if you dial 9-1, and then leave it, it will default to 911 and police fire and ambulance will show up.

From: The 10th circle | Registered: Jul 2001 | IP: Logged

saskatchewan
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 9644

posted 29 July 2005 11:47 AM

This makes me so furious! And sad, sad, sad.

From: Ontario | Registered: Jun 2005 | IP: Logged

James
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 5341

posted 29 July 2005 11:48 AM

In fact, jeff, on a "911 hang-up" call, don't they have and use a means by which the hung-up phone can be made to ring continuously, as a distraction pending their arrival.

From: Windsor; ON | Registered: Mar 2004 | IP: Logged

fern hill
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3582

posted 29 July 2005 11:50 AM

quote:
Originally posted by oldgoat:
Actually, if you whack the phone pad with your fist, or if you dial 9-1, and then leave it, it will default to 911 and police fire and ambulance will show up.

That seems eminently sensible.

jeff house, maybe you can help with this: one reason offered for not responding was that the police couldn't arrest the man for breaking into his own house. Is that true? Seems idiotic. Wouldn't many abusive spouses own the house? That gives them carte-blanche?

From: away | Registered: Jan 2003 | IP: Logged

WingNut
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1292

posted 29 July 2005 11:52 AM

quote:
Oh yes, I'm sure they're doing "a complete internal investigation".

That would be a complete, internal coverup, wouldn't it?

From: Out There | Registered: Aug 2001 | IP: Logged

Michelle
Moderator
Babbler # 560

posted 29 July 2005 12:03 PM

That's what I'm betting on.

From: I've got a fever, and the only prescription is more cowbell. | Registered: May 2001 | IP: Logged

Scott Piatkowski
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1299

posted 29 July 2005 12:08 PM

I thought the CBC reporter did a great job interviewing the RCMP spokesperson. Here's a paraphrase...

RCMP: I have no information to indicate that we didn't respond to the call until twelve days after the victim was killed.
CBC: Well, I have that information and it's contained right here in this RCMP memo that you wrote. Can you confirm that the RCMP did not respond to a 9/11 call and went to the house only twelve days later -- twelve days after the victim was killed?
RCMP: Ongoing investigation... blah blah blah... careful not to prejudice... blah blah blah

From: Kitchener-Waterloo | Registered: Sep 2001 | IP: Logged

jeff house
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 518

posted 29 July 2005 12:16 PM

quote:
jeff house, maybe you can help with this: one reason offered for not responding was that the police couldn't arrest the man for breaking into his own house.

It is true that no one can be arrested for breaking into his or her own house.

But the call suggested volatility and a strong possibility for violence. 911 calls do not require the caller to state grounds for an arrest. "Help me" is enough to justify police presence.

Police do not need to arrest someone every time they assist the public. They might have attended, asked him to leave, calm the situation down, or in the last resort, give her a drive to a safe place.

From: toronto | Registered: May 2001 | IP: Logged

fern hill
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3582

posted 29 July 2005 12:26 PM

Thank you, jeff. One would like to believe that 'Help me!' would bring the cops, and not some further question like: 'Well, first, we need to know who owns the house.' I really really hope heads roll on this one, though, of course, I have no real expectation that the cops won't cover their collective bum.

From: away | Registered: Jan 2003 | IP: Logged

BleedingHeart
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3292

posted 29 July 2005 12:30 PM

A bit off the topic but a couple of months ago in Canmore, the video store was broken into. The alarm went off and the alarm company called the RCMP who dispatched an officer from Cochrane where she lived (it is too expensive for RCMP to live in Canmore).

I wonder if that was the situation here. (The officer on call lived in a different community).

From: Kickin' and a gougin' in the mud and the blood and the beer | Registered: Nov 2002 | IP: Logged

skdadl
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 478

posted 29 July 2005 12:31 PM

Gosh. In Toronto, if you call 911 with certain types of medical emergency, the police will show up too, as will the firepersons.

In our case, eg, the police heard a report of an elderly person having a seizure, and they came to check out the situation just to make sure that there was no elder-abuse going on.

From: gone | Registered: May 2001 | IP: Logged

skdadl
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 478

posted 29 July 2005 12:33 PM

The officer has to go from Cochrane to Canmore?!?

Good night! That would take over an hour!

The Alberta government will not pay for a police station in Canmore?!?

From: gone | Registered: May 2001 | IP: Logged

HeywoodFloyd
token right-wing mascot
Babbler # 4226

posted 29 July 2005 12:46 PM

http://www.rcmp-grc.gc.ca/ab/dist_det/det_e.htm#c

quote:
Cochrane
359 1Street E
Cochrane, AB
T4C 1Y7

It could be that the on-duty officers were involved in calls already so they had to dispatch the on-call officer.

From: Edmonton: This place sucks | Registered: Jun 2003 | IP: Logged

Scott Piatkowski
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 1299

posted 29 July 2005 12:50 PM

quote:
Originally posted by skdadl:
The officer has to go from Cochrane to Canmore?!?
Good night! That would take over an hour!

But not twelve days. Plus there were two 911 calls that night, and she requested police attendance on both calls. If they had responded to the first one, she would probably still be alive.

From: Kitchener-Waterloo | Registered: Sep 2001 | IP: Logged

arborman
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 4372

posted 29 July 2005 01:24 PM

That's appalling. I've called 911 and never imagined that there would be anything less than a rapid response if that was needed.

12 days is ridiculous.

From: I'm a solipsist - isn't everyone? | Registered: Aug 2003 | IP: Logged

BleedingHeart
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 3292

posted 29 July 2005 03:55 PM

quote:
Originally posted by skdadl:
The Alberta government will not pay for a police station in Canmore?!?

There is a police station in Canmore where presumably a police officer could bunk out overnite just like doctors and other health care professionals do. Unfortunately police have rights and they apparently prefer to sleep in their own beds.

The town of Canmore pays for police not the province.

From: Kickin' and a gougin' in the mud and the blood and the beer | Registered: Nov 2002 | IP: Logged

Contrarian
rabble-rouser
Babbler # 6477

posted 29 July 2005 04:26 PM

According to this 2003 report:

quote:
...Myrna Bauman, mayor of Three Hills, says for communities with populations under 2,500 and counties, the provincial government picks up the policing tab. For the 63 communities larger than that, including Three Hills, they pay Ottawa directly for RCMP service...

So the 63 larger ones might be more inclined to skimp on police.

I think I've heard this discussed on radio; don't know if the funding policies have changed.

[ 29 July 2005: Message edited by: Contrarian ]

From: pretty far west | Registered: Jul 2004 | IP: Logged

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