Mayor would 'do nothing differently' if 911 call situation happened again
The mayor said Tuesday he has 'full faith' in the Windsor police
Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens said he would do nothing differently if the situation surrounding a 911 call to Windsor Police Chief Al Frederick's home came up again.
New details about a 911 call to Frederick's home on Nov. 12, 2018 have been made available through documents obtained by both the CBC and Windsor Star.
In the documents provided, personal information has been redacted to provide privacy for those involved.
What the documents tell us
The materials obtained by CBC include email communications between the police board members, emails with Ontario Provincial Police and Dilkens, as well as the redacted OPP review.
Dilkens had previously released two pages of the review, which stated 'all involved WPS members, both uniform and civilian, responded in an appropriate and proper manner'.
The documents show the names of the OPP personnel assigned to investigate, as well as the Windsor contact. OPP came to Windsor on Dec. 4, 2018 to conduct their investigation.
Due to the redaction, it is unclear whom the OPP interviewed, and if they spoke to officers or just reviewed their reports. It is also unclear if anyone in the Frederick home at the time of the call was interviewed by the OPP.
Requesting the review
In a letter dated November 21, 2018, Dilkens requests a review by OPP regarding the call for service.
The letter outlines what procedures were followed during and following the 911 call, but also notes that the review is being requested due to information related to the call "spreading quickly" throughout the police service, as well as CBC's request for information.
"Yesterday afternoon I was made aware of a request by the CBC to the Windsor Police Service for information related to this matter. In an effort to protect the integrity of the Board and the Windsor Police Service, the Board by resolution is requesting your support for a review of this incident by the OPP."
Dilkens said Wednesday that it was like a "game of telephone" within the police service, despite efforts to classify the 911 call and subsequent investigation as private within the police reporting system.
VIDEO: So, I asked <a href="https://twitter.com/drewdilkens?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@drewdilkens</a> today; why not request the OPP review before officers started talking about it, or before <a href="https://twitter.com/CBCWindsor?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">@CBCWindsor</a> asked about it, in the interest of transparency and protecting the board’s integrity? <br><br>Here’s his answer: <a href="https://t.co/2DdOHMOsJf">pic.twitter.com/2DdOHMOsJf</a>
—@JasonViauCBC"I started hearing comments that were untrue and then the request by CBC ... I wanted to make sure that if the story had ever become public we had gone through the proper actions," said Dilkens.
In February, Dilkens told media the call didn't require an "immediate response" from the board because "there was no criminal activity."
Dilkens said Wednesday he is confident in the WPS and its actions.
"I have full faith in our chief of police and our Windsor Police Service to provide safe and effective policing to our community."
Policy being developed
The Nov. 21 letter from Dilkens requesting the review states the board will review its policy "with the intent to provide direction to our Members related to future calls for service involving the Chief of Police."
According to Dilkens, the police board has communicated with other police boards to review their policies.
There has been no word on what a future policy might include or a timeline for its development.
Background
As previously reported, the 911 call was received by an operator at 11:18 a.m. on November 12, 2018. The documents outline that three officers and one sergeant were dispatched within five minutes of the call. One officer was called off and never attended the scene.
According to the review, Deputy Chief Brad Hill is contacted at 11:26 a.m. and arrived at the Frederick home before 11:50 a.m. Hill then takes over the investigation, and directs the sergeant to close the occurrence after reports were filed.
Hill also assisted the sergeant in ensuring the matter was labelled as private in the police reporting system, which the review said is typical for matters involving police personnel.
In a December interview with CBC Windsor News at 6 host Arms Bumanlag, the chief dismissed the call as "rumours."
The OPP review concluded that the 911 call was handled appropriately.
Clarifications
- An earlier version of this story stated Windsor Mayor Drew Dilkens had previously released two pages of the review, which stated no criminality or misconduct had occurred connected to this incident. In fact, the review said all involved WPS members, both uniform and civilian, responded in an appropriate and proper manner.Dec 09, 2019 4:46 PM ET