Police chief addresses 'dead name' complaint in arrest of trans activist
CBC
London's police chief has weighed in for a second time about last week's controversial arrest of a London transgender activist.
In a statement released Thursday night, Chief Steve Williams confirmed that Clara Sorrenti was the victim of a "swatting" incident.
That's when someone calls police with false information with the intention of sending police to a person's work or residence to arrest them.
Sorrenti has said police came to her house last Friday, arrested her at gunpoint and detained her for 11 hours.
Williams said on that morning, police received a 911 call about a person threatening to shoot people at city hall.
His statement confirms that threatening emails sent to city officials did not originate with Sorrenti.
The chief also says officers did not force their way into her home —a tactic that is sometimes called a "dynamic entry" — but insists police knocked on the door.
Williams says Sorrenti was cooperative but was arrested for uttering threats based on information police had at that time.
Williams confirms that it was the force's Emergency Response Unit that carried out the arrest, and that officers were armed.
However, the chief said that response was necessary, given the nature of the threat.
Williams also addresses the criticism that police used the name and gender assigned to Sorrenti at birth during her arrest. Sorrenti has told CBC News she's not used the name and gender assigned to her at birth for more than a decade.
Williams said, however, that a bag of her belongings was labelled with her former name, sometimes called a dead name.
But he says police did not call her by her former name while she was in the holding cells.
Williams said he's reached out to Sorrenti to discuss the incident and made her aware of how she can file a complaint, if she wants to.
The architect of Alberta's politician recall legislation says it was never meant to be used as a political weapon, but as an "ultimate tool of accountability" if a politician engages in illegal or unethical behaviour.
The Government of Saskatchewan has introduced its long-promised involuntary treatment legislation on the final day of the fall sitting.
The Law Society of Ontario has suspended the licence of Deepak Paradkar, one of seven Canadians arrested in connection with alleged drug lord Ryan Wedding’s cocaine smuggling ring.
London Health Sciences Centre (LHSC) is getting rid of unlimited mental health benefits for staff, blaming ballooning costs and former administrators for implementing it without proper due diligence or oversight.
Netflix has agreed to buy Warner Bros. Discovery's TV and film studios and streaming division for $72 billion US, a deal that would hand control of one of Hollywood's most prized and oldest assets to the streaming pioneer that has upended the media industry.
CBC Calgary kicks off its annual Make the Season Kind campaign this morning at Fratello Coffee Roasters.
CBC Newfoundland and Labrador is kicking off its annual holiday campaign, helping to raise money to support local food banks.
If all goes according to plan, at 6 a.m. AT on Saturday people working at the IWK Health Centre will become the test case for a generational change to Nova Scotia’s health-care system.
One month after Prime Minister Mark Carney announced what he called "generational" military spending, New Brunswick’s defence ecosystem is on high alert.
Miranda Mirlycourtois, 34, looks directly at the camera and makes a confession.
Saskatoon city hall says police spending is projected to be $2.6 million over budget this year. That pushes the city into a $1.2-million deficit position, according to a report that will be considered by city council next week.
Students at the University of Regina are days away from deciding whether a newly formed student association should become their official representative body.
All public schools on P.E.I. are closed Friday and thousands of Maritime Electric customers are without power as strong winds create hazardous travel conditions across the province.