Man charged with making death threats against City of Burlington employees, led to city hall evacuation
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A man was arrested after phoning in a threat against City of Burlington staff and elected officials, Wednesday, an incident which led to city hall being evacuated by police.
Shortly after 1 p.m., Wednesday, a man called the city and threatened to harm employees.
Police responded shortly after and called for a ‘hold and secure’ protocol – in which normal activity continued within the building but the exterior doors were locked.
Mayor Marianne Meed Ward says at first, she and her team thought it was a drill.
“So, you know, we’re like, ‘oh yeah, we’re in the middle of a meeting, what a time for a drill?’ And then we very quickly realized it was not a drill. There was a very real threat.”
Police then called for a total evacuation.
“You want to try to bring some normalcy”, Meed Ward said, “but I know we were all extremely rattled. No one’s ever dealt with that, including me.”
Within several hours, the investigation led to the arrest of a 37-year-old Burlington man, charging him with one count of uttering death threats. The man is being held in custody in Milton until his bail hearing.
WATCH | Mayor of Burlington says ‘we were all extremely rattled’ by death threat:
“It was not a drill,” Burlington Mayor on the threat of violence against staff and elected officials
Burlington Mayor Marianne Meed-Ward describes how she and her staff reacted when they first heard of the violent threat made against staff and elected officials by a man on Wednesday, which led to city hall being evacuated.
Meed Ward says the incident illustrates why she recently launched a campaign to combat what she says is growing toxicity aimed at elected officials and civil servants. The campaign, called Elect Respect, asks elected officials, as well as the public at large, to sign a pledge to commit themselves to, among other things, “treat elected officials and each others with respect in all spaces — public private and online”, as well as to “reject harassment, abuse, and personal attacks, and speak out when I witness them.”
The campaign includes a resolution to be adopted by municipal councils and other elected bodies.
So far, nearly 200 elected officials from across the country have signed on, as well as nearly 500 citizens. Over 40 municipalities have adopted the resolution.
“People are feeling that there’s a level of incivility and danger out there that puts people who deal with the public in a position that we need to ask for that civility and respect,” Meed Ward told CBC.
