Greater Sudbury’s deputy police chief is hailing the actions of one of her members who helped save the life of a woman in distress on April 28.
Deputy Chief Sheilah Weber called the aftermath of the incident a “good news story” during the virtual police services board meeting on May 20.
On April 28, bystanders in the area of Frood Road and Baker Street saw a woman on a railway trestle about 40 feet above the roadway. The woman was in crisis, and had two different types of rope around her neck.
She was sitting at the edge of the railway trestle with her feet dangling over the bridge.
Det.-Const. Jon Barry was the first officer at the scene. He saw the woman lying down on the trestle.
As additional police arrived, the woman tried to hang her body off of the track area.
Barry moved onto the trestle as officers began to talk with her in an attempt to stop her from hurting herself.
When Barry reached the top of the trestle, he saw she was trying to get back up, however, she did not have the strength to pull herself up. He grabbed her upper arms to stop her from falling.
A paramedic then arrived and helped the woman to safety on top of the trestle. They removed the ropes from around her neck.
Greater Sudbury Police said from March 17 to April 16, there were 44 attempted suicide calls for service and 34 mental health calls for service. In comparison, attempted suicide calls for service were down 11 (55 in the same time period in 2019) and mental health calls for service were up one (in the same time period in 2019).
These types of call could be classified in a variety of ways, such as concern for a person’s welfare, check on the well-being, suicide or attempted suicide. There is no way to know the exact reason for the fluctuation or whether or not the calls are related to the emergency orders such as isolation in response to COVID-19, said GPSP spokesperson Kaitlyn Dunn, in an email.
Weber highlighted a number of other achievements made by Greater Sudbury Police since the beginning of the year.
Since January, the Break, Enter and Robbery Team has been involved in a number of investigations initiated from outside agencies including Canada Post to assist with mail box thefts; Canadian Border Services to follow up on a firearm silencer, which resulted in an arrest and seizure of the item and additional firearms, York Regional Police to assist in a stolen excavator, which was recovered, and Peel Regional Police Service in an attempted murder investigation.
Since January, 19 persons have been arrested with a total of 79 Criminal Code charges being made. Seizures during investigations have resulted in the recovery of a stolen excavator valued at $69,000, four flashlight conductive electricity weapons valued at $400, a 12-gauge shotgun plus ammo valued at $1,000, and $380 in controlled substances.
These investigations were the result of over 155 hours of reviewing business and residential CCTV video and over 365 hours of physical surveillance.
During the month of April, the Internet Child Exploitation team received 19 new investigations, 10 production orders written and conducted, and one media presentation on GSPS Twitter internet safety.
For the month of April, the computer forensic team received six new investigations, and 17 new devices for analysis.
In April, information was received from a southern Ontario police service that a man who was in Sudbury obtained a firearm and was believed to have fired the weapon twice in a residential area.
The Integrated Crime Team, along with members from their tactical and canine unit, assisted as a Criminal Code search warrant was prepared.
The man was arrested without incident a day later. During a search of the home, drugs believed to be cocaine, fentanyl, money and a firearm were located. The man is facing firearm and drug charges.
In April, a man was stopped and charged for driving under suspension. He was also the subject of an investigation where he had been identified through social media as making general violent statements. He was cautioned about his comments. He claimed his statements were not meant to be taken seriously despite providing no reason for them.
In April, the Major Crime Section started an investigation into a shooting incident where an adult couple and their infant were asleep in their beds when a number of shots were fired at the house. Some of the rounds pierced the exterior wall of the residence and entered into the bedroom area, narrowly missing the three victims.
A 25-year-old man was arrested for criminal harassment and extortion in connection to the incident. The investigation is continuing.
During the month of April, the 911 ECC answered 20,304 telephone calls. More than 4,000 of those phone calls were received through our 911 network. Added to these calls, the 911 ECC also managed 8,224 police service events and 554 fire service events.
