Toronto police issued a public alert about a rise in personal property thefts occurring at large gatherings and concerts in the city in the past few days.
In a news release, police said that between July 28 and August 1, they received numerous reports of thefts of personal property during a music festival at Downsview Park. While victims were distracted, personal items like cell phones and credit cards were stolen. Police believe the thefts were a coordinated effort.
The police would like to remind the public to be aware of their surroundings when in large gatherings, secure all personal property and report anything suspicious to event security or staff.
Anyone with information is asked to contact police at 416-808-3100, Crime Stoppers anonymously at 416-222-TIPS (8477), or at www.222tips.com.
London’s police chief is speaking out about a confrontation at a weekend Pride event in the city that resulted in one man being charged with weapons offences and some in the LGBTQ+ community fearful of future clashes.
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London police say their hate-crime investigator is reviewing the “large physical altercation” at Wortley Road and Duchess Avenue, where the 2022 Wortley Pride festivities were unfolding. A witness said people in pickup trucks descended on the event, honking to drown out music and hurling homophobic slurs at those in attendance.
Police have not publicly identified the person charged.
“Let me be clear – the London Police Service will not tolerate acts of intolerance, bias or hate against any member of our community. Our community is rich with diversity, and every individual has a right to feel safe on our streets, and in our neighbourhoods,” police Chief Steve Williams said in a statement issued Monday afternoon.
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Police have described Saturday’s altercation as a “disturbance” and say it’s under investigation. Williams urged anyone with information or video footage of the events to share them with police.
London police will have a “large and visible presence” at this week’s Pride Festival, including the parade on Sunday, he added. On-duty officers will be there and other off-duty cops will be marching in the parade as participants, Williams said.
That’s been a flashpoint in London among the gay community. Pride London barred uniformed officers from marching in the parade several years ago, but welcomed back members of the London force last year.
Williams said safety will be a top priority at the festivities. “As with any large-scale event, we have a full operational plan in place to ensure the safety of participants and those who line the parade route in support.”
He added: “We will continue to work with Pride London throughout the week to ensure any Pride Week concerns are addressed so that all individuals are able to celebrate safely, and to offer our continued support to the LGBT2QIA+ community.”
A man was arrested Saturday afternoon following a disruption at a London Pride event, police say.
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It was about 2:15 p.m. when police say officers responded to an emergency call regarding a large disturbance at Wortley Road and Duchess Avenue, where an event that’s part of Pride week in London was being held in Wortley Village. They made public few other details.
“A large physical altercation took place in the surrounding area. Upon police arrival, a male has been taken into police custody for several criminal charges . . . he was not a part of the festivities,” police said in a statement.
The investigation was ongoing, and police were asking anyone who may have information or video of the incident to please contact them at 519-661-5670 or Crime Stoppers at 1-800-222-TIPS.
It’s been an ugly few months in Southwestern Ontario regarding anti-LGBTQ incidents. In Norwich, a small town just south of Woodstock, Pride flags were stolen and a man from Tillsonburg, Jake Dey, was charged. Dey then gave a 30-minute address at a Norwich Township council meeting, during which he compared the Pride movement to Nazi Germany.
About 100 local citizens attended the most recent township council meeting, last week, and demanded the mayor’s resignation for allowing the remarks. The mayor, Larry Martin, has refused to resign.
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Saturday’s event appeared to draw a large crowd. It’s part of week-long Pride festivities that will wrap up next Sunday, July 24, with a parade.
BERLIN — German police are investigating after several women reported feeling unwell following an event hosted by the parliamentary group of Chancellor Olaf Scholz’s party.
Berlin police said Saturday that the investigation was triggered by a 21-year-old woman, who felt dizzy and unwell several hours into Wednesday’s summer party for the Social Democrats and then was unable to remember the evening the following day. She went to a hospital for checks, and police ordered a blood test for an analysis of possible toxic substances.
The woman ate and drank at the event, but didn’t consume any alcohol, police said. By Saturday morning, another four cases in which people reported similar symptoms had emerged. German media reported that they apparently were victims of so-called “knockout drops,” which can be mixed into drinks or food. Police said they were awaiting test results.
Police opened an investigation of persons unknown on suspicion of bodily harm. Both they and the center-left Social Democrats said they weren’t aware of any offenses beyond that.
The Social Democrats’ co-leader, Lars Klingbeil, told Welt television he was “furious that something like this could happen at an event” organized by the party. He said the parliamentary group’s leadership is cooperating with authorities and he hopes “that the perpetrator or perpetrators can be caught and then brought to account.”
About 1,000 people attended the annual party on Wednesday, including the chancellor, party lawmakers and their employees.
When it comes to reasons to be worried over the coming weeks, local law enforcement can take its pick. The deadly attack on Fourth of July paradegoers in Highland Park, Illinois, is still fresh in people’s minds. And, in June, during Pride Month, there were a number of disturbing incidents, including what police say appeared to be a plan for a sizable attack on a Pride event in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho. Police arrested 31 members of a white nationalist group.
On Thursday, San Diego police sought to reassure the public about security at events happening here this month.
“Safety is our No. 1 for the San Diego Police Department,” Lt. Jonathan Lowe said.
Roland Lizarondo
The Pride Flag is shown in Hillcrest on July 7, 2022.
In the shadow of Hillcrest’s massive Pride flag on Thursday, Lowe provided a note of reassurance, talking about security preparations for San Diego Pride next week and Comic-Con a week later.
“We’re going to have uniformed officers and nonuniformed officers in the crowd, always watching over the parade route, the festival and the associated parties around Hillcrest. Same goes for Comic-Con as well,” Lowe said.
In the case of Pride, police are getting some extra help from the Hillcrest Business Association. Ryan Bedrosian, the owner of Rich’s nightclub, sits on the association board.
Roland Lizarondo
Artwork is shown on the patio of Rich’s in Hillcrest on July 7, 2022.
He said he and his fellow Hillcrest business owners had been talking recently about how to make sure security this year is tighter than ever.
“Our exits are clear, properly well-lit. Our security staff is on point. We have extra security guards — they’re trained. So those are things that we always take into consideration, but obviously more so on Pride weekend,” said Bedrosian.
The security of big events came up this week when San Diego Mayor Todd Gloria appeared on KPBS Midday Edition.
“It is frustrating to have this threat of violence across the nation impacting this event,” Gloria said.
But the mayor also said he was confident in law enforcement’s ability to keep people safe.
Roland Lizarondo
One of many fire hydrants painted in pride colors around Hillcrest is shown on July 7, 2022.
“I have full faith in our San Diego Police Department, as well as our regional law enforcement partners,” Gloria said.
But, even with all the reassuring words, there is still that nagging reality that a person with a gun determined to cause mayhem and violence — can. That’s why the words that came into our lexicon after 9/11 still ring true today: If you see something that doesn’t look right, say something.
It’s been three years since Hamilton’s Pride celebrations were disrupted by anti-LGBTQ demonstrators, resulting in a violent confrontation, several arrests and, as an independent report later described, a damaged relationship between the LGBTQ community and police.
Pride Hamilton is now getting ready for its first in-person celebration since that 2019 event at Gage Park. This year’s event will be held indoors in July 8 and 9.
As the celebration nears, some community members say the Hamilton Police Service (HPS) has more work to do to build back the fractured relationship.
“I’d like to see them… acknowledge what they did, not just by apologizing for it, but talking specifically about what they did wrong,” said Cameron Kroetsch, who was on the Pride Hamilton board in 2019 and was also the chair of the city’s LGBTQ Advisory Committee.
“In my opinion, the mayor and the police haven’t done what’s necessary to meet the mark,” Kroetsch, who is now a Ward 2 candidate in this fall’s municipal election, told CBC Hamilton.
The Pride Hamilton festival was disrupted on June 15, 2019, by a religious group with homophobic signs and people from the yellow vest movement, which is associated with far right groups. Protesters were met with Pride supporters who wore pink masks and used a large black curtain to shield the protesters from the view of the festival. Violence erupted, injuring several people.
Protesters at the 2019 Pride event were met with Pride supporters who wore pink masks and used a large black curtain to shield them from the view of the festival. (ihearthamilton/Twitter)
Police arrested one protester, charged three Pride supporters and arrested one person who was later found to not be at the festival.
An independent review by lawyer Scott Bergman found the police response to the violence was “inadequate” and the lack of police preparation meant the service “failed to protect” festival attendees. It also had 38 recommendations for police.
The damning review came out just days after a leaked copy of an investigation by the Office of the Independent Police Review Director, which found “policies and procedures were followed in this instance and that there were no identified issues.”
The leaked report is among the issues that still chafe for Kroetsch.
“If you’re trying to build trust with the community, why would you try to undermine the only external review being written?” he said. “I don’t think they understand what it means to move toward a resolution and build trust.”
Hamilton’s police services board has since said it “sincerely and unreservedly apologizes” for what happened and that it will implement all 38 recommendations from Bergman’s report.
A police board presentation made earlier this year said there are at least 16 outstanding recommendations to implement. Those include three related to the retention by HPS of a mediator to help guide talks with the community and establish a task force, HPS spokesperson Jackie Penman said in an email to CBC. The force is currently reviewing six names submitted by the community for that position, she said.
Five recommendations are related to training, and another five are related to the next Pride event, which called for better police communication, planning and community consultation ahead of and during such an event.
‘Police will be there to protect’: Pride chair
This year’s Pride is being held at the Hamilton Convention Centre by Carmen’s on July 8 and July 9, featuring two days of vendors and performers. The event closes with a show featuring drag performer and former RuPaul’s Drag Race contestant Nicky Doll.
The event will also have police present, says Pride Hamilton chair Kiel Hughes.
Pride Hamilton chair Kiel Hughes says the indoor setting of this year’s event is only intended as a one-off. (Submitted by Kiel Hughes)
Police have consulted with the committee several times on a plan to protect those attending the event, Hughes says, and will be stationed inside and around the perimeter of the building.
“Police will be there to serve and protect like they’re supposed to,” Hughes told CBC Hamilton, while acknowledging a “tense” relationship between many community members and the police force.
“I am pretty adamant that if the police are going to be there, they’re supposed to do what their mandate is. I am not interested in having police at Pride in a booth recruiting people or in their uniforms dancing around.”
If they’re working to make that change and do what they’re supposed to do, I am not going to try to stop them.– Pride Hamilton chair Kiel Hughes
There is still much work left to do to repair the relationship between the police and the LGBTQ community, but police do seem to be making improvements, Hughes added.
“I can see an effort is being made… As for how that will go and how that will look, that has yet to be determined… If they’re working to make that change and do what they’re supposed to do, I am not going to try to stop them. I would just encourage people to see what they’re trying to do and see how best it will work to everyone’s favour.”
In 2020, Pride Hamilton filed a complaint with the Human Rights Tribunal of Ontario against the city and police, asking for $600,000 in damages. It said police discriminated against the organization by not protecting people at the Pride celebrations.
That was before Hughes became chair, and when Kroetsch was still on the board. He says Hamilton police have applied to the tribunal to have the case dismissed, on the basis that the tribunal typically hears complaints from individuals, not organizations. Penman declined to confirm whether that is the case.
“That doesn’t seem like an organization that’s really interested in resolving things despite the tick-box exercise they’re going through,” says Kroetsch.
Cameron Kroetsch says he’d like to see police talk specifically about “what they did wrong.” (Richard Agecoutay/CBC)
This year’s event is being held indoors for several reasons, says Hughes: safety; accessibility; timeline challenges given COVID-19 regulations that changed at the end of March; and cost, as an outdoor event would have required a significant spend on security, among other items.
‘Nobody wants another virtual Pride’
Many in the community have complained about the indoor venue yet few have volunteered to help organize, said Hughes. The committee currently has only four board members and is exhausted, Hughes added, saying the indoor venue is only intended as a one-off for this year.
“Nobody wants another virtual Pride,” Hughes said. “After looking through the options…, that was the choice as it would help to alleviate some of the strenuous work of trying to get license and permits in the short period of time.”
The indoor nature of this year’s event is a barrier for River Holland-Valade, who is immunocompromised and worried about the COVID-19 risk of a large, indoor event.
But many people in the community are desperate for a sense of connection at the moment, they said.
“The community as a whole is really struggling,” says Holland-Valade, who is two-spirit and works in mental health services within that community. Pandemic isolation, burnout and struggles to keep up with the rising cost of living are among the challenges they are seeing regularly among their peers and clients.
River Holland-Valade says many people in the community are in need of a sense of connection. (Submitted by St. Joseph’s Healthcare Hamilton)
“There’s a number of people through the pandemic and through lockdown that didn’t previously identify as LGBTQ, and this is the first Pride they’ll be accessing,” Holland-Valade told CBC Hamilton.
While there have been many Pride events held in Hamilton in recent weeks, including Queer Prom hosted by Fruit Salad in May and an outdoor Pride picnic hosted by The House of Adam and Steve on June 18, the July event is the only one put on by Pride Hamilton.
“[Knowing what happened at the last Pride] might discourage some of the people that really need resources and to connect the most,” Holland-Valade said.
They were at the 2019 event and said there is still a lot of pain left over from what happened that day, noting many people they know will feel uncomfortable in an “enclosed” space with police present.
“I know I would feel uncomfortable, especially as a queer and trans person of colour,” said Holland-Valade. “If something did happen, will they actually protect the community? Because they failed to in the past.”
Ottawa interim police Chief Steve Bell says Canada Day celebrations will put a strain on the force’s resources.Photo by DAVE CHAN /AFP via Getty Images
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The Ottawa Police Service has had to take “unprecedented measures” to staff its Canada Day policing plan, interim chief Steve Bell said Monday, and it’s resulting in a hit to members’ wellbeing.
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The police service has had to cancel days off and call people back from annual leave, Bell told reporters before a Monday meeting of the Ottawa Police Services Board. This year’s Canada Day gatherings in the capital are “an all-hands-on deck event, but that has a cost on the health and wellbeing of our members. And I think it’s important that we recognize this,” said Bell.
Unlike pre-pandemic Canada Days, when OPS would handle the downtown core while the Parliamentary Protective Service or RCMP were responsible for celebrations on the hill, this year’s celebrations are stretching over a wider span of the city’s core.
Supt. Rob Bernier, the Canada Day event commander, told the police services board the Ottawa police footprint on July 1 will extend across approximately three kilometres downtown, from the Canadian Heritage celebrations on LeBreton Flats through the Wellington Street corridor to the ByWard Market.
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According to Bell, the federal government has advised that “hundreds of thousands of people” are expected to flood into the downtown area Friday. At the last pre-pandemic Canada Day celebration, on July 1, 2019, some 56,000 visitors to the Hill were counted throughout the day and about 30,000 spectators attended the evening show.
A total of 15 Canada Day events are expected across the city, including five that should be “relatively significant in size and time,” Bernier told the board, with celebrations throughout the day and fireworks at night. Bell told board members that the ability to respond and maintain public safety in various parts of the city has been a key component of their planning.
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Bernier did warn that the coming days will be a strain on OPS resources. The service has reached out to other Ontario municipal police forces, the OPP, other provinces and the RCMP, but they too are dealing with Canada Day events and demonstrations in their respective jurisdictions as well as having personnel on summer holidays, said Bernier.
“We’ll continue to work to ensure that we have the resources in place with the support of the various agencies that are stepping up to help us.”
When it comes to its own workforce, OPS has taken “unprecedented measures to ensure every available officer and police member is deployed” for the July 1 events, Bell said Monday. This comes after the deployment of “a great number” of officers at January and February’s Freedom Convoy occupation, a rolling protest through downtown Ottawa in March and motorcycle-themed “Rolling Thunder” rally in late April. Calls for service have also been on the rise as pandemic restrictions have relaxed, according to Bell.
“We have a fatigued workforce. Our members are tired. They’ve had to work very hard over a long period of time,” said Bell.
“It’s not sustainable forever to be able to make people or request that people work as much as we have over the last period of time.”
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Uncertainty surrounding the role of Minneapolis police officers at city park events remains despite park board commissioners reinstating their partnership.
Following the murder of George Floyd while in Minneapolis police custody in late May 2020, the then Minneapolis Park & Recreation Board (MPRB) cut ties with the Minneapolis Police Department (MPD) during their park events and for certain MPD calls.
Leading up to this summer’s park events — including Twin Cities Pride that’s expecting around 350,000 people — in April, park board superintendent Alfred Bangoura sent a resolution to the board, calling on them to repeal the severed ties.
Superintendent Bangoura outlining the Minneapolis Park Police Department (MPPD) has “limited capacity to provide special event security and cannot match pre-pandemic levels without supplemental assistance.”
With a 5-3 vote during a board meeting on May 4 the board repealed it — along with the park event partnership, the repeal also opens the door for Minneapolis park police officers to respond to MPD calls.
But, with only days away from Twin Cities Pride, a representative tells 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS it’s still “early in the process” in regards to bringing MPD officers back to park events.
The rep also says that the Minneapolis Park Police Department (MPPD) has 33 sworn in police officers (including its police chief, lieutenants and sergeants).
“I have confidence in our staff,” Becka Thompson, MPRB commissioner for district 2, said. Thompson voted in favor of repealing the axed partnership.
“We’re building our way towards normal with a new system,” Thompson added. “I guess [that] is how I would describe it, but I definitely am supportive of trying to bolster what we have, because I know we are still very much taxed.”
Months before the board’s vote, organizers with Twin Cities Pride were making their own plans — including bringing on private security.
“We do a lot of strategic planning around every type of scenario from whether to you know, acts of harm against our community. So we take it very seriously and plan for a full year going into it, Andi Otto, Twin Cities Pride’s director of operations, said.
Police there report a 911 caller tipped them off after seeing what looked like a “little army” pile into a moving van. Police say the men were in tactical gear and feared they were going to the Pride event — the men were arrested on suspicion of rioting.
“It’s heartbreaking, but we know that there are still acts of harm against our community. We’re aware of that,” Otto said, adding: “We take a look at that and we just sit down at the table and continue to have the conversation. Unfortunately, it’s not something new to us in this community.”
Twin Cities Pride will be held at Lorning Park — Otto says patrols at the park will include their private security and MPPD officers. He said with an event their size, the city requires them to have police officers.
MPD officers will be patrolling Sunday’s parade route. In a statement regarding the partnership with the MPPD, specifically regarding park events, a spokesperson with the MPD sent the following:
MPD maintained an uninterrupted relationship with the Minneapolis Park Police to the goal of promoting safety and peace in our city and its parks and for officer safety. That includes responding jointly to priority one emergency calls when needed. MPD consistently provided patrol and 911 response at park property during the hours in which Park Police Officers were not regularly on patrol. We continue this valuable collaboration with the Park Police as we do with all our partner agencies to create a safe environment.
Twin Cities Pride organizers, while confident in the security plan, ask those attending, and other community members, to “say something, if you see something.”
A record number of 245 unwanted guns were safely turned in at the seventh annual Cambridge “Safer Homes, Safer Community” Gift Cards for Guns event on Saturday, June 11 at Reservoir Church and Margaret Fuller House. The firearms that were turned in included pistols, revolvers, shotguns, rifles, BB guns that looked like 9mm pistols, and a toy gun. Residents from Cambridge and as far away as New Hampshire also dropped off ammunition and various gun parts. This year’s turnout surpassed last year’s previous record of more than 150 guns collected. Public safety officials and community volunteers have now collected more than 560 guns at Cambridge events, handed out firearm safety locks, and shared extensive information about suicide prevention and gun safety.
The Cambridge Gift Cards for Guns – part of the city’s initiative aimed at reducing accidental injuries in the home and reducing the risk of suicide, domestic violence, and street crime — is a collaboration of the City of Cambridge, the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office, and more than 60 faith and community-based organizations and businesses. Since 2013, the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office has assisted 15 cities and towns throughout the county, and more than 1,890 unwanted weapons have been turned in.
For those Cambridge residents who were not able to participate last weekend and would still like to dispose of any unwanted gun(s) in their homes, please contact 617-349-6009. Appointments scheduled by Thursday, June 30, 2022 will remain eligible for grocery gift cards ranging from $50-$200 in value.
Participants cited a wide range of reasons for participating in this year’s event. One father indicated that after seeing the recent shootings around the country, he wanted to make sure his son would not have any access to a firearm within his home. A widow indicated that she located a gun inside a bag while cleaning out her late husband’s belongings and wanted to have it removed from her home. An elderly male said he had possession of a pistol for decades, but never used it, and wanted to have it safely destroyed.
Overall, more than 60 organizations helped make this weekend’s events possible through planning, participation, support, and donations. The following Cambridge interfaith organizations and community partners collaborated on this important initiative: A Place to Heal Ministries, Abundant Life Church, Calvary Praise and Worship Center, Cambridgeport Baptist Church, Cambridge Community Fellowship Church, Christian Mission Holiness Church, Congregation Eitz Chayim, Christ Church, First Baptist Church, First Church in Cambridge Congregational, First Parish Cambridge, Friends Meeting Cambridge, Harvard Epworth United Methodist Church, Harvard Memorial Church, Islamic Society of Boston (ISB Cambridge), Journey Church, Kingdom Empowerment Center, Massachusetts Avenue Baptist Church, Parish of Saint Paul, Pentecostal Tabernacle, Reservoir Church, Rush AME Zion Church, Salvation Army, Cambridge Citadel, St. James Episcopal Church, St. Paul African Methodist Episcopal Church, St. Peter’s Episcopal Church, Temple Beth Shalom, Union Baptist Church, Western Avenue Baptist Church, Cambridge Community Foundation, Cambridge Community Center, Cambridge Women’s Center, Cambridge YWCA, Community Art Center, East End House, Many Helping Hands, Margaret Fuller Neighborhood House, My Brother’s Keeper Cambridge, Cambridge Chamber of Commerce, The Loop Lab, Transition House, Tutoring Plus, YWCA Cambridge, CambridgeSide, Central Square BID, Harvard Square Business Association, Middle East Restaurant, Pemberton Market, Star Market/Shaw’s, Toscanini’s, Trader Joe’s, Whole Foods Market, Cambridge Arts Council, Cambridge Council on Aging, Cambridge Domestic & Gender-Based Violence Prevention Initiative, Cambridge Health Alliance, Cambridge Human Service Programs, Cambridge Peace Commission, Cambridge Police Department, Cambridge Public Health Department, Cambridge Public Works, Cambridge Veterans Services, The Office of Massachusetts State Representative Marjorie Decker, Massachusetts State Police and the Middlesex Sheriff’s Office.
For more information on Cambridge’s “Safer Homes, Safer Community” initiative, please visit camb.ma/GiftCardsforGuns. If you or your organization is interested in becoming involved in a future event (e.g. donate gift cards, volunteer at the event, or help post flyers in advance of an event), or if you live in a community that may be interested in holding a similar event, please e-mail Many Helping Hands’ Lori Lander (lorilander@manyhelpinghands365.org), Cambridge Police Department’s Jeremy Warnick (jwarnick@cambridgepolice.org), or Middlesex Sheriff Office’s Kevin Maccioli (kmaccioli@sdm.state.ma.us).
Ottawa police have located two people and two vehicles of interest related to the events that sparked street closures and an evacuation of Parliament Hill on Saturday afternoon.
Local police worked with their policing partners to close the area around Parliament for a few hours on Saturday, while they investigated what they described as a “suspicious incident.”
Wellington Street between Elgin Street and Bronson Avenue was closed for around three hours, as well as Metcalfe Street between Albert and Slater streets.
Ottawa police said the investigation found there was no risk to public safety in a tweet.
Heavily armed officers were stationed along roads leading to Wellington, with vehicles and police tape blocking access.
At least some employees who work in the Parliamentary precinct received an email saying an ongoing operation is taking place to deal with a possible threat.
“There has been a SHELTER IN PLACE order given for the Precinct, this entails no movements in or out of our buildings. Parliament Hill has been evacuated.”
Police are continuing to investigate.
The suspicious incident investigation at Parliament Hill is complete. No public safety threat has been identified. The area is reopened to the public. We thank the public for its cooperation.
