The Toronto Police Association has published an ad that depicts Mayor Tory and Chief Saunders, as well as police board chair Andrew Pringle, laughing at delays which have apparently occurred in dealing with 911 calls. Behind the three public figures is the emergency number scrawled in blood. By any measure, the ad seems to take the union’s campaign against efforts to control the cost of policing to a new low. The ad was published by the Toronto Star Tuesday. It carries the wording: “These guys are putting your safety on hold.” Speaking with reporters about the ad, Tory conceded that there have been some issues with callers to 911 being put on hold but he said that efforts are underway to address them.
“BEYOND COMPREHENSION” SAYS MAYOR
“The notion to me that the way you deal with this is to put an ad in the newspaper showing people laughing while blood is splattered behind them is beyond comprehension,” he said. “It is a throwback to the old days of the way police union bosses acted and I just don’t want to be part of it. I have my job to do and I will continue to do it the way that I do which I hope is responsibly and respectfully.” The specifics of any delays are not contained in reportage. Head of the TPA, Mike McCormick, says some people have been put on hold for minutes not seconds but the circumstances are not stated. 911 operators deal with many calls that do not require immediate responses.
