‘Unknown trouble’ tweet sparks questions about police transparency
Posted December 1, 2015 1:44 pm.
Last Updated December 1, 2015 2:10 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
After Toronto police tweeted about an “unknown trouble” call early Tuesday morning, there were few updates for hours – leaving Toronto residents not knowing exactly what the trouble was.
Before March of 2015, Toronto police broadcast information on police scanners, which media had access to, and organizations like CityNews could then pass that information along to the public. In March, those scanners became encrypted, leaving those outside of police in the dark.
It was a scramble Tuesday morning to find out what had happened, and if the public was in danger. There were about 40 minutes between the initial 911 call and the first police tweet about the incident. It took another two hours for Toronto police to say they wouldn’t be saying anything else.
About two hours after that, the province’s Special Investigations Unit confirmed a man had died and a woman had been taken to hospital. The SIU is an arm’s length agency that investigates reports involving police where there has been death, serious injury or allegations of sexual assault.
CityNews has been pushing GTA police to be more transparent. Here’s a timeline of what police said Tuesday morning, and our attempts to find out what happened:
9:02: Initial 911 call comes in to police.
9:49 a.m.: Toronto police alert the public via Twitter.
11:38 a.m.: About two hours after the initial tweet, police say they won’t be commenting. They also say the incident happened at 9:02 a.m., sparking questions about why the first tweet didn’t appear until 9:49 a.m.
11:40 a.m.: CityNews calls and emails SIU for information.
11:42 a.m.: CityNews calls Toronto police corporate communications.
11:43 a.m.: CityNews emails Mark Pugash, the head of corporate communications, to ask what prompted the SIU call. What was the interaction with police? Pugash did not respond.
11:44 a.m.: CityNews calls the Toronto police media line. The phone rings, with no option for voice mail.
11:49 a.m.: CityNews’ Managing Assignment Editor Nicole McCormick publicly Tweets Toronto police to ask about the incident. Police did not respond.
11:55 a.m.: A contact at Toronto Paramedics Services tells CityNews that they were called at 9:41 a.m., about 40 minutes after police knew about the incident and shortly before police sent their first tweet. The source tells CityNews that one person was pronounced dead at the scene. The contact also says a woman was taken to hospital for an “assessment,” but wouldn’t say for what.
12:09 p.m.: The SIU responds with “I’ll get back to you shortly.”
1:02 p.m.: The SIU sends out a release, about four hours after police were first called. They confirm a 34-year-old man is dead, and a 31-year-old woman has been taken to hospital. The incident happened on Eva Rd., near Highway 427 and Burnhamthorpe Road. Police entered an apartment on the 23rd floor, where they found the injured woman. They also found a man on the terrace, who was pronounced dead at the scene.
The SIU has assigned five investigators and two forensic investigators to the case.
Earlier this year, CityNews reporter Francis D’Souza publicly took Peel police to task for their lack of information on a death in Mississauga. See his tweets below:
– With files from Nicole McCormick
