/PG/ St. Catharines, Ontario [Canada] (Signal High) for BadCop.Online —– We are following a developing story in St. Catharines, Ontario, where the reckless actions of several police officers nearly led to an explosion and catastrophic loss of life.
Details are sketchy at this point but what we have uncovered is that on Wednesday, the superintendent of a small apartment building in southern Ontario faced the decision of a lifetime when it was discovered that a tenant had stockpiled large quantities of gasoline and other hazardous chemicals in his apartment. Making matters worse, the tenant is alleged to be a “hoarder” – his apartment filled with flammable goods. Compounding the situation, the tenant is alleged to have tampered with the electrical system and had assaulted the superintendent when he tried to gain entry.
Fearing the worst, the superintendent called fire and child protection departments (for the tenant’s young child) as well as the child’s mother. He evacuated other tenants and informed neighbors. Then he shut off the power and posted an emergency notice. In Ontario, landlords that don’t take this kind of action can face prison.
Throughout the day, more than eleven Niagara Regional Police officers flooded the residence at the request of the tenant, bullying and taunting the superintendent – threatening to arrest him if he did not restore power. Sources say the police didn’t bother to investigate at all. Eventually the police became more and more threatening and the superintendent refused to speak with them until fire officials cleared the building. But the police continued to yell and scream, having temper tantrums and threatening to put the superintendent in jail for disobeying them.
Eventually, the fire department arrived and spent more than an hour removing gasoline canisters, paint cans, solvents and other chemical hazards. When the fire captain gave the ‘all-clear’ the power was restored, but the tenant continued to reset circuit breakers throughout the night. The fire captain agreed the evacuation and shutdown was a good precaution. This writer spoke to an official with knowledge of the incident, who agreed to interview on condition of anonymity, as he is not allowed to speak to the press. According to the official, “the manager did the right thing for sure … that whole thing could have been nasty.”
Through Facebook, a neighbor said that other households in the community, mostly retired seniors, had been opening rooms to people because of the housing shortage, but that their experiences have been quite mixed. She was horrified at the way the police dealt with this incident, “the [police] took the wrong side and handled this very badly … we could have all been killed.”
Signal High has been unable to confirm the name of the tenant and has agreed not to publish the address of the property or the name of the superintendent – at this time. We have been advised that the property owners and superintendent are exploring legal options. This writer reached out to the Niagara Regional Police but received no response. Persons with any knowledge of this incident are invited to contact mary.dunn@signalhigh.news.
So we ask,
What would you do if you were in that situation? What should be done with the police? the superintendent? the tenant? Do you have previous dealings with the Niagara Regional Police? Please take a moment to comment below. This writer will continue to investigate.
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