Man who chased Vancouver woman also threatened to 'kill children' in a park, witnesses say
Two Vancouver mothers say the same man who chased and yelled at a woman in Yaletown this week also threatened to "kill children" in a nearby park that same afternoon. But when they called 911 for help, they say, no officers arrived.
Yaletown resident Lauren Hitchman said she was in Emery Barnes Park Monday afternoon when a man started acting erratically while approaching women and children.
“He kept saying, ‘The kids are gonna go to hell, they’re dead, you’ll see,’ and we’re like, 'You’ll see?' That made us think, like, are you going to harm our kids?” she said.
Hitchman was with her friend, Tiffany Tolmie, and both women had 17-month-old toddlers with them. Hitchman said the man initially started threatening another group of women and children, so they all huddled together for safety in numbers.
Tolmie recalled that the incident was “immediately terrifying” and said they were focused on trying to keep the children safe.
“We were trying to de-escalate the situation, we were asking him calmly just, 'Please leave. We’re asking you nicely to leave,'” Tolmie said.
The man didn’t leave. In fact, the mothers said, he became increasingly agitated.
“He was calling me fat, he was saying I need to lose weight, I need to go to the gym, like, 'You’re ugly. No one’s going to love you,' just absurd things,” Hitchman said.
Part of the interaction was captured on camera and one of the women can be heard speaking on the phone to a 911 operator. Tolmie said the women were told to “hang tight,” but officers never came.
“The fact that we stayed for an hour and no one showed up when someone’s threatening to kill children at the park is incredible,” she said.
A few days later, Hitchman saw the same man’s face on a CTV News article after he’d chased another woman down the street on the same afternoon. Police officers did attend that scene, but the suspect had already fled.
“To see on the news that this same person, on the same day, had done the same thing to someone else and that’s where the police had been, I mean, that's super disturbing,” Hitchman said.
VPD spokesperson Sgt. Steve Addison acknowledged there was a “time delay” in officers responding to the call at the park, suggesting that dispatchers could have been “triaging” calls due to a shortage of resources.
“It’s not necessarily acceptable, but sometimes there can be a time delay because we’re balancing risk,” Addison said, later confirming to CTV News that VPD had asked patrol units to follow up “immediately” with all women involved in both incidents.
Hitchman, who works in mental health and addictions, said she is used to dealing with situations like this in her role, but not while at the park with children. She fears the system is failing.
“I know if I was acting in a way that that gentleman was, someone would have checked in on me, so who’s checking in on him?” she said.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Chants of 'shame on you' greet guests arriving for the annual White House correspondents' dinner
An election-year roast of U.S. President Joe Biden before journalists, celebrities and politicians at the annual White House correspondents' dinner Saturday.
What is a 'halal mortgage'? Does it make housing more accessible?
The 2024 federal budget announced on April 16 included plans to introduce “halal mortgages” as a way to increase access to home ownership.
Here's where Canadians are living abroad: report
A recent report sheds light on Canadians living abroad--estimated at around four million people in 2016—and the public policies that impact them.
Deadly six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 sparked by road rage incident
One person was killed in a six-vehicle crash on Highway 400 in Innisfil Friday evening.
Opinion I just don't get Taylor Swift
It's one thing to say you like Taylor Swift and her music, but don't blame CNN's AJ Willingham's when she says she just 'doesn't get' the global phenomenon.
Invasive and toxic hammerhead worms make themselves at home in Ontario
Ontario is now home to an invasive and toxic worm species that can grow up to three feet long and can be dangerous to small animals and pets.
Harvey Weinstein hospitalized after return to New York from upstate prison
Harvey Weinstein’s lawyer said Saturday that the onetime movie mogul has been hospitalized for a battery of tests after his return to New York City following an appeals court ruling nullifying his 2020 rape conviction.
'We are declaring our readiness': No decision made yet as Poland declares it's ready to host nuclear weapons
Polish President Andrzej Duda says while no decision has been made around whether Poland will host nuclear weapons as part of an expansion of the NATO alliance’s nuclear sharing program, his country is willing and prepared to do so.
Central Alberta queer groups react to request from Red Deer-South to reinstate Jennifer Johnson to UCP caucus
A number of LGBQT+2s groups in Central Alberta are pushing back against a request from the Red Deer South UCP constituency to reinstate MLA Jennifer Johnson into the UCP caucus.