Vancouver police received multiple reports of a man acting "aggressively" towards strangers on Sept. 19, including allegations he was chasing a woman and threatening to kill children.
One of the calls came from a mother who was, while making the call, facing the man at the Yaletown park.
Lauren Hitchman says she called 911 just before 3 p.m. as the man sat on the playground near her and other caregivers and parents with their children at Emery Barnes Park. Hitchman's friend Tiffany Tolmie was recording the man while the group huddled on the opposite side of the park.
"He was threatening our children, saying that he was going to kill them that they are dead [and] that they're going to hell. He kept saying 'You're [going to] remember me, remember my face'," Hitchman tells Vancouver Is Awesome over the phone.
Sgt. Steve Addison of the Vancouver Police Department (VPD) confirmed that "the original call from Emery Barnes Park came to us around 3 p.m. and it was reported to be a man swearing and high on drugs." He also stated that there were multiple victims.
'He was yelling at them and swearing'
Hitchman describes seeing two nannies with children heading toward her, with a man following. "He was yelling at them and swearing," says Hitchman.
She adds that after the man was told to leave and was warned that the police will be called, he came closer to where the children were and became very agitated and aggressive.
"I was talking to the police and I told him the police are coming [and he] needs to leave. He started to say 'You're a bunch of horrible moms. You're fat. You're ugly. No one is going to love you. You're jealous of me.' and he was posing with a very strange body mannerism," says Hitchman.
Tolmie had pulled out her phone to record the encounter, which appeared to subdue the man, whom Tolmie acknowledges may have mental health issues. "He was a very aware person and very aware of what was going on. That's what makes it scarier."
Despite having the police on the phone and being recorded, he sat on a boulder in the park and refused to leave. "He said 'That's fine' and decided he would wait [for the police]," says Tolmie.
VPD said officers were coming, but none ever showed up
Hitchman recalls calling the police at 2:59 p.m. that afternoon. "The police said they were coming [and that] within minutes someone should be there and we waited for almost an hour."
The two mothers tell V.I.A that the man sat for 20 minutes on the rock before leaving.
“It was incredible that no one showed up. I've always called but I've never stuck around. This is my first time sticking around and then no one shows up. And I'm thinking 'Oh, how was the other 10 times I've called probably no one has showed up'," says Tolmie.
Later on, they found out that police were investigating another related incident nearby, involving a woman who was chased by the same man and who hid in a nail salon, located across the road from the park.
The group called the VPD again at 3:15 p.m. as the man was getting ready to leave. Afterwards, Tolmie found out that police finished investigating the nearby incident at 3:08 p.m.
"The police never came," says Tolmie.
Tolmie adds that her friend had come to the park as everyone left and told her that after being at the park for an hour no police officer came by.
Addison explains that "there was originally no mention of weapons or violence, and it wasn't until more than an hour later that we were told children had been threatened. By that time, the suspect had already left the park and our officers had located him."
The VPD also shared a public thread on Twitter explaining the situation. They said that "our biggest concern was that a woman had been chased, and because our priority was locating the suspect, we didn't immediately connect with the moms in Emery Barnes Park. We also weren't aware until much later that children had been threatened in the park."
Addison adds that the man has extensive mental health challenges and if the VPD investigation finds evidence of a criminal offence, VPD will consider referring the matter to Crown counsel.
Yaletown park a 'bad incident waiting to happen'
Tolmie explains that the police no-show was a rude awakening about safety at Emery Barnes Park.
Despite the park being one of the best in the neighbourhood, according to the mother, it has become an unsafe place. "You find needles. There are people that are mentally unwell. This isn't the first time I've dealt with it."
Tolmie describes the park as a "bad incident waiting to happen," and adds that if police don't show up then someone else has to deal with it, noting the many new moms that go to the park.
When asked if she'll be returning to Emery Barnes Park, Tolmie replies: "Absolutely not."
"You're so distracted with your kid– Are they putting something in their mouth? Are they are they falling? Are they running too fast? You're so distracted with that so you can't always see strangers coming up behind you," the mother explains.
"We should not have to be subjected to that type of behaviour and threats when we're literally in a park with our children," adds Hitchman.
Tolmie explains that for those living in the city without access to a backyard, parks are crucial for child development. "I depend on this so much for my child's well-being and it's being taken away by violent people and mentally unwell people. It's so sad," says Tolmie.
"When people call 911 they expect police to come immediately. We understand the frustration people feel when there's a delay. We've reached out to the moms from Emery Barnes Park to discuss our response, as well as their neighbourhood concerns," reads VPD's Twitter thread on the issue.
"They've told us they're worried about drugs, untreated mental health, and increasing crime in the park. It’s making people feel unsafe and leading to conflicts with young families who use the area," says their tweet.
'The system has completely failed' unhoused, mentally ill people
Both mothers say that the lack of response is frustrating, yet both sympathize with police and those suffering from mental health issues.
"I know they're overwhelmed," says Tolmie of the VPD.
Hitchman says in her line of work she works closely with police and knows "how stretched thin they are," she says. Hitchman adds that increasing the use of the VPD's Car 87 program "would be an incredible start" in tackling incidents related to mental health.
Car 87/88 is a service that has officers in plain clothes and nurses respond to mental health calls in the city.
The service receives more than 200 requests per month to attend what are largely non-emergency incidents for people in a mental health crisis.
Further, Hitchman supports the need for help and resources to be provided for those suffering from homelessness and mental health issues. "If people cannot be in the capacity to act in a way that goes along with the rest of the community then they need to be given considerable help," she says.
"Their homes are being completely displaced and they're not given anywhere to go," she continues. "This is what we're going to continue to see in our park and in our neighbourhoods because now people have been rerouted from the Downtown Eastside [with] nowhere to go."
"I wanted to get our story out there because I in no way blame that person that attacked us. I really feel for them [and] I really truly sympathize with [their] situation," says Hitchman. "I just think that that's another example of how the system has completely failed that person, and that more needs to be done."
With a file from Mike Howell
