City officials criticized in wake of infant’s death following Raptors parade

City officials continue to review the planning and execution of the massive Toronto Raptors championship parade following confirmation an infant died and concerns from the two heads of the city’s first responders about a lack of resources due to the size of the massive crowds.

Toronto police say at around 1:30 p.m. on the afternoon of the parade, they received a medical complaint in the area of University Avenue and York Street.

Paramedics tell CityNews a baby was found without vital signs and that due to the size of the crowd, they could not get an ambulance to the scene. Off-duty paramedics, who had no equipment with them, performed CPR on the infant and a decision was made to transport the baby to hospital in a police car as they continued to try and revive the child.

Mike McCormack, the president of the Toronto Police Association, says several of his members expressed concerns that police had a difficult time getting to the infant due to the overwhelming crowds.

In a statement released late Thursday afternoon, the city said reports that medics or police could not get to the baby are “unfounded.” They say the infant arrived at hospital within six minutes of first responders getting to the scene.

The city says the baby arrived at hospital without vital signs but that medics were able to revive the infant that afternoon. However, the child passed away two days later on June 19.

WATCH: Viewer video appears to show first responders at Raptors parade rushing infant to hospital

Mayor John Tory, who said he had only been informed of the circumstances surrounding the child’s death for the first time on Thursday, called it a “terrible tragedy” for the family and the city and it will all be part of the review currently underway concerning the parade planning.

“The parade was supposed to be a joyous occasion but the success of it put a huge strain on and caused significant risk and I think we’re going to have to find ways to do it better going forward,” said Tory. “We will be very thorough in looking into all of these circumstances and many other circumstances surrounding the parade so that we can obviously make sure that future events of this kind, which I hope we have, are safe for everybody and maximize the safety and security of the people who attend.”

“I hope that the review and its conclusions will bring the tiniest bit of comfort to this family.”

McCormack says he plans to meet with Chief Mark Saunders on Friday to discuss why the union didn’t have a more active role in the planning of the parade and to address reports that Saunders may have turned down additional resources from outside the city.

Saunders says he did not recall turning down additional help, adding he had all the resources necessary to protect the large crowds.

“We had over 525 resources that were there. What you saw in the public was not all of the resources that we had that were available,” explained Saunders. “I’m certainly not going to draw two-million officers because that’s not going to be possible.”

Mike Merriman, the paramedic and EMS unit chair for CUPE Local 416, says public safety and paramedic safety was a major issue for his members on the day of the parade and that there weren’t enough officers. He tells CityNews that due to the size of the crowds a request was made to have officers accompany medics to incidents as they feared for their own safety.

Saunders added that while there were issues of hydration and “other factors” he was working with the city and other agencies to look at best practices going forward.

“We utilized the resources to the best of our ability. Yes it was taxing but how the men and women from the Toronto Police Service acted is how I expect them to be – to be professional, to be courteous, to deal with the circumstances to the best of their ability and they did a fantastic job.”

Aside from the infant incident, police were also called to deal with a shooting late in the afternoon that sent parade-goers scattering from Nathan Phillips Square. Three people have been arrested but police are still searching for one other suspect as well as the gun used in the shooting.