Windsor police Chief Al Frederick says the 911 call made from his home was a “deeply personal matter.”
Frederick addressed the media at city hall on Tuesday about the stories regarding the 911 call from his home and the subsequent investigation.
“The call to my house was a deeply personal matter between myself and a family member,” says Frederick. “Once the police arrived, there was an inherent conflict of interest with the police who are on scene.”
An OPP investigation found Windsor police handled the call appropriately, and was done in a proper and transparent manner.
The OPP’s conclusion of the review, obtained by CTV News, is heavily redacted. But it confirms the 911 call was made at 11:18 a.m. on Nov. 12, 2018. Two uniform patrol officers and the officer’s supervisor were dispatched to attend the residence. The Deputy Chief of Police was alerted to the incident and also responded.
The officers determined the 911 call was not of a criminal nature, and no charges were laid.
As for the nature of the call, Frederick would not elaborate since it was a “personal matter.”
“The underlying issue between myself and the family member is, we’re working on it,” says Frederick. “I apologized to those officers for putting them in that position where they had to deal with their chief of police and a family member over a private issue.”
There is a policy within the Windsor Police Service that when there is a 911 call regarding an officer's conduct, that another supervisor or another officer holding a more senior rank attend to oversee the call, but there isn't one regarding the chief who is the highest rank.
Frederick is defending the actions of his officers and the police board.
“There's no wiggle room, for an officer when he attends a scene with a conflict of interest,” says Frederick, who notes every officer takes an oath to do their duty. “Nobody is above the law, I think if need be, those officers would have made the arrest and taken the appropriate actions under any circumstances.”
The police chief’s comments are the first time he has spoken of the incident since he has been out of the province for the “last number of weeks.”
The OPP report into the call states, “The attendance of the Deputy Chief of Police in this incident was the most appropriate and common sense response to the situation. In conclusion, both the initial response and investigation of this incident, and the subsequent report submissions and notifications, were completed in a proper, transparent manner by the involved members of the Windsor Police Service.”
Dilkens told CTV Windsor last week they will update the policy.
“We will have to craft our own made in Windsor solution and we'll mirror what we already did where the deputy chief attends the scene and then the board chair is notified almost immediately after the call is done,” said Dilkens.
Dilkens added the police services board has full confidence in the city's police chief.