‘Enough is enough’: Violence against police officers a concerning trend in Canada

Experts are disturbed about the recent violence against police officers after an active shooter incident in Scarborough on Tuesday that resulted in one man facing an attempted murder charge.

Toronto police officers attended a home on Shenley Road in the Kennedy Road and Eglinton Avenue East area around 8 p.m. to conduct a search warrant and arrest a suspect wanted for a previous offence.

It’s alleged that plainclothes officials attempted to arrest the man at the home. In response, the suspect fled, pulled out a firearm and began firing at the officers before barricading himself inside.

“Enough is enough,” Jon Reid, President of the Toronto Police Association, tells CityNews. “This is unprecedented violence against police officers.”

It’s believed that once shots rang out, responding officers were forced to take cover behind police cruisers, evading gunfire.

“The individual last night started firing off randomly at officers and into the neighbourhood,” Reid said. “It forced people in their homes to go hide in their basement in fear of being hit with a stray round. It has to stop.”

Three Ontario police officers died in line of duty in recent months

While no officers were hurt in this most recent case, several local police units have grappled with the losses of members of their respective forces.

Toronto police Const. Andrew Hong was shot and killed in a brazen attack on Sept. 12 in Mississauga when he was out for lunch. The man believed to be behind the shooting, identified as 40-year-old Sean Petrie, was shot and killed that same day in Hamilton.

One day later, York police Const. Travis Gillespie died in a multi-vehicle collision in Markham, with the man reportedly behind the wheel now facing an impaired driving charge.

Last week, South Simcoe police constables Devon Northrup and Morgan Russell were shot and killed while responding to a call at a home in Innisfil. The 23-year-old man who allegedly shot the officers was also pronounced dead at the scene.

South Simcoe Police identified the two officers shot and killed in Innisfil, Ont, as Morgan Russell (left) and Devon Northrup (right). Photo: South Simcoe Police.

“I have been involved in policing now for almost 35 years. These incidents are generally things we hear about in the United States. Now it seems they have come up here in Canada,” Reid said.

The rise in violence against authorities isn’t limited to Ontario. Police Const. Shaelyn Yang, 31, who authorities say was partnered with a city employee when an altercation broke out at a park in Burnaby, east of Vancouver, was stabbed and killed on Tuesday.

The male suspect, who B.C.’s police watchdog said was shot by Const. Yang, was charged with first-degree murder on Wednesday.

Reid believes there has been a growing lack of respect and villainization of police officers that might be contributing to the violent incidents. As a result, the TPA president says bail reform legislation that would result in harsher punishments for criminals with loaded firearms is necessary.

“They have to understand that if you’re caught with a loaded firearm, you’ll be going to jail for a long time,” Reid says. “Not going to jail for 24 hours and released the next day.”

The suspect in the Scarborough incident had two previous firearms prohibitions from the court, which Reid says, “had no impact on this individual.”

“You have to understand that seeing this death and carnage [against police] isn’t normal.”

The South Simcoe Police Service announced the funeral for Const. Russell and Const. Northrup will be held on Thursday.