Chatham-Kent police have confirmed an investigation has been launched into a civilian dispatcher who sent out a questionable tweet about an Amber Alert.
The tweet was sent moments after an Amber Alert was issued late in the evening of Feb. 14 about a missing 11-year-old Brampton girl who was later found dead.
The tweet said – “Emergency alert just scared the crap out of me!!! Suspect headed EASTBOUND from BRAMPTON??? Ummm I'm 3-hours WEST of Brampton. Idiots. How do I turn this *** emergency alert off?”
The tweet – which has since been deleted -- was from the twitter handle “bManSays” but it belongs to Brian French, a civilian employee with the Chatham-Kent Emergency Communications Centre.
CTV Windsor has received a statement from the Chatham-Kent Police Service.
It states: “The Chatham-Kent Police Service supports the Amber Alert system. We have been asked about a Tweet from last week that has been attributed to a civilian member of the CKPS by a local media outlet. We are looking into that matter and will conduct an investigation relative to our Social Media procedure. This is an internal, HR matter and we will not comment further on that topic.”
The statement goes on to say, “The CKPS strongly supports the Amber Alert system and its usage in this particular case. We would ask members of the public to support it as well. We would also ask members of the public to be mindful that these investigations and alerts are only used when they meet certain criteria and these cases involve a danger to a child. These investigations have often been on-going for a period of time before an alert is issued. We’d ask all members of the public to keep these concepts in mind when an Amber Alert is utilized.”
Peel Regional Police issued the Amber Alert last Thursday after 11 p.m., several hours after 41-year-old Roopesh Rajkumar failed to return his 11-year-old daughter, Riya, to her mother.
Thursday was the girl’s birthday, and Riya was found dead at a home in Brampton around midnight when the Amber Alert was cancelled.
Her father – who was charged with first-degree murder – died in hospital this week from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
The late-night alert, broadcast on TV and Radio and fanned out on cell phones, provoked a backlash among many people.
Peel Region Police say they received dozens of calls of complaints to 911.
Police across Ontario expressed dismay at the reaction. Even Prime Minister Justin Trudeau weighed in, on Twitter saying such alerts “are critically important to helping police when a child’s life is on the line.”
