A war of words has erupted between Mayor John Tory and the head of the Toronto Police Association following the publication of a full-page ad which seems to blame Tory for the wait times some residents have encountered when calling 911.
The ad, which was published by the Toronto Star on Tuesday morning, depicts a smiling Tory in between Police Chief Mark Saunders and Toronto Police Services Board Chair Andrew Pringle with the words, “These guys are putting your safety on hold” superimposed over a graphic in which “911” is spelled out in blood.
The ad also contains the words “Toronto police 911: please hold, your call will be answered by the next available operator.”
Speaking with reporters about the ad on Tuesday, Tory conceded that there have been some issues with callers to 911 being put on hold of late but he said that efforts are already underway to address those issues, including the recent hiring of 20 new employees to “supplement the ranks” at the 911 dispatch centre.
“The notion to me that the way you deal with this is to put an ad in the newspaper showing people laughing while blood is splattered behind them is beyond comprehension,” he said. “It is a throwback to the old days of the way police union bosses acted and I just don’t want to be part of it. I have my job to do and I will continue to do it the way that I do which I hope is responsibly and respectfully.”
TPA President Mike McCormack told CP24 earlier on Tuesday that 911 callers have been regularly put on hold for “minutes and not seconds” for months now.
He said that union leadership has been attempting to address the issue with Tory, Saunders and Pringle but have seen their pleas fall on deaf ears.
“They have been placating and putting it off and saying don’t worry we will do another review,” he said. “It is time for action.”
McCormack said that the issue facing the 911 dispatch centre is just part of a wider problem facing the Toronto Police Service as a whole.
He said that senior leadership at the TPS has rushed to reduce the number of front-line officers as part of an ongoing modernization effort without making the necessary investments in technology and other infrastructure that were supposed to accompany the cuts.
“We lost 232 uniformed officers last year and we have lost 75 so far this year,” he said. “The fix is to staff appropriately, get your infrastructure, get everything prepared and then staff down to a model that makes sense for the type of policing you are doing.”
McCormack said that the morale among front-line officers has “tanked” and that action needs to be taken to address what he said has become a “crisis in policing.”
Tory, however, pointed out that the TPS did end their hiring freeze one year earlier than scheduled in August, following complaints from the police association. He said that 80 constables were also hired in the final months of 2017.
“I had been carrying on what I thought were very constructive discussions with Mr. McCormack,” he said.
Both Tory and McCormack are expected to attend a roundtable on the ongoing modernization of the TPS that is being held at the Rexdale Community Hub tonight.