Police chief addresses 'dead name' complaint in arrest of trans activist
CBC
London's police chief has weighed in for a second time about last week's controversial arrest of a London transgender activist.
In a statement released Thursday night, Chief Steve Williams confirmed that Clara Sorrenti was the victim of a "swatting" incident.
That's when someone calls police with false information with the intention of sending police to a person's work or residence to arrest them.
Sorrenti has said police came to her house last Friday, arrested her at gunpoint and detained her for 11 hours.
Williams said on that morning, police received a 911 call about a person threatening to shoot people at city hall.
His statement confirms that threatening emails sent to city officials did not originate with Sorrenti.
The chief also says officers did not force their way into her home —a tactic that is sometimes called a "dynamic entry" — but insists police knocked on the door.
Williams says Sorrenti was cooperative but was arrested for uttering threats based on information police had at that time.
Williams confirms that it was the force's Emergency Response Unit that carried out the arrest, and that officers were armed.
However, the chief said that response was necessary, given the nature of the threat.
Williams also addresses the criticism that police used the name and gender assigned to Sorrenti at birth during her arrest. Sorrenti has told CBC News she's not used the name and gender assigned to her at birth for more than a decade.
Williams said, however, that a bag of her belongings was labelled with her former name, sometimes called a dead name.
But he says police did not call her by her former name while she was in the holding cells.
Williams said he's reached out to Sorrenti to discuss the incident and made her aware of how she can file a complaint, if she wants to.
The province and district social services administration boards say plans are in place to ensure people on social assistance do not miss out on benefits as a result of the strike by Canada Post employees.
Near the exit to Truro, N.S., a cluster of colorful tents and a lone RV can be seen alongside Highway 102, some tucked under the overpass for shelter from the elements.
Police and Public Trust, a project of the CBC News Atlantic investigative unit, scrutinizes the largely off-limits police complaint and discipline systems across the region. Journalists are using access to information laws and, in some cases, court challenges to obtain discipline records and data.
Toronto police have arrested a GTA woman who they allege scammed dozens of Taylor Swift fans out of more than $70,000 by promising them tickets that never materialized.
Montreal was, in years past, considered a haven for renters. But those days are long gone.
WARNING: This story details violent events surrounding a fatal police shooting.
It took Gordon Frentz over 14 hours to drive through the snow from Grande Prairie, Alta., this past weekend to compete at this year's Canadian Western Agribition in Regina.
The coroner's inquest into the drug-related deaths of six men in custody at the Hamilton-Wentworth Detention Centre will revisit 2018 recommendations relating to eight other inmate deaths to determine what's been done to implement them, the inquest's lawyer said Monday on the first day of hearings.
Emily Walstrom was expecting to lay her father to rest this month, but instead, she says his cremated remains are stuck in a Canada Post facility in B.C., delayed by the ongoing national postal strike.
A Friday night fire hasn't caused any impact to operations at the Dryden mill, the company said.
With around 55,000 Canada Post workers on strike since Nov.15 and no deal in sight, Toronto businesses say they're gearing up for a tough holiday season.