'Prolific offenders' charged in fire, stabbing rouse police chiefs
In a social media post, London police Chief Thai Truong said the accused in the daytime attack is a "prolific offender" who was out on bail
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Following a daylight stabbing in London and a major fire in St. Thomas, police chiefs in both cities described the two accused as “prolific offenders” and are vowing to do everything in their power to keep them behind bars.
London police Chief Thai Truong commented on social media after a manager at Joe Kool’s was stabbed July 7, while St. Thomas police Chief Marc Roskamp released a statement following a fire July 6 that razed an historic downtown building.
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“The accused is a prolific offender with dozens of prior convictions,” Truong said in a post Sunday. “He was out on bail at the time of the attack. Thanks to the swift response of our officers, he was quickly identified and taken into custody. He remains there, and we will do everything in our power to contest his release.
“This is not just a policing issue. There are broader societal challenges at play, and we must acknowledge that some individuals, regardless of their circumstances, pose a real and ongoing risk to public safety. We will continue to work with our community leaders, the courts, and all levels of government to keep our community safe and find real, long-term solutions. Safety must come first.”
A 33-year-old London man is charged with aggravated assault and breach of probation in the stabbing. He remains in custody and was to appear in a London court on Friday.
In a statement July 7, Roskamp said a 44-year-old St. Thomas man charged with arson, failing to comply with a probation order and drug possession in the fire that levelled a 144-year-old downtown building was “prolific offender” who was before the courts on 13 charges, including mischief and making a false fire alarm, and has been convicted of 14 charges, including arson.
The case represents the “pressing” concerns over a bail system that impacts community safety, he said.
“The (St. Thomas police service) believes in combining compassion where appropriate, but not an automatic overcompensation to blame social determinants as the cause, and where chronic criminality is treated as a symptom,” Roskamp said. “Repeat offenders often show targeted behaviours that disregard victims’ rights, leaving communities to suffer the consequences.”
Joe Kool’s owner Mike Smith said the injured bar manager was discharged from the hospital the day after he was stabbed and is expected to return to work this week.
“Obviously, this is serious. We didn’t want this to happen, but there’s been a really huge improvement in the last year,” Smith said of safety in downtown London.
Smith, a downtown booster who owns two other core eateries, credits Truong, who vowed to make London a safer city when he became chief two years ago, for the improvement.
“The chief is doing a great job. I saw him walking Richmond Street a month ago,” Smith said, adding violence isn’t unique to downtown. “It’s everywhere.”
The manager had asked a man loitering behind Joe Kool’s to leave at about 3:30 p.m. on July 7, London police said.
The man pulled out a knife and stabbed the manager. The attacker took off on a scooter, police said.
The manager suffered life-threatening injuries and taken by paramedics to hospital, police said.
Court records show the accused in the stabbing was previously arrested on March 17 and charged with possession of property obtained by an indictable offence, fleeing from police, driving while prohibited, careless storage of ammunition and possession of ammunition while prohibited. The man, whose address is listed as a backyard shed, wasn’t held for a bail hearing.
Rattled by the attack, some Richmond Row businesses and employees shared their frustrations with The Free Press about what they say are delays in police response to calls about threats or vandalism on the busy bar-eatery strip, an entertainment hot spot for residents and visitors to London alike.
Online, reaction has similarly highlighted concerns about public safety downtown.
Jeremy McCall, a member of the public library board and prominent community volunteer, took to X to post a photo of what appears to be a blood-soaked hospital bed, and described the victim as a friend.
“I sincerely hope that we can get Richmond Row under control for the sake of everyone in London,” he wrote.
Coun. David Ferreira, whose Ward 13 encompasses downtown, said downtown is safe but still has its issues like other cities.
“There’s a lot of people in the downtown area, so with more people . . . you may see higher numbers of certain things happening here and there,” he said. “I don’t really see a difference between downtown and other areas of the city, so of course Richmond Row is safe and there are a lot of people (who) will attest to that.”
The London and St. Thomas police chiefs are the latest law enforcement leaders to speak out in a bid to draw attention to problems that need to be addressed, said a spokesperson for an organization representing more than 1,200 senior police officers across the province.
“Just from a policing perspective, I think what you’re seeing is the chiefs are reflecting what their officers on the frontline are reporting back, a sense of frustration that they do a lot of hard work . . . particularly with repeat offenders and it seems it’s a bit of a revolving door,” said Joe Couto of the Ontario Association of Chiefs of Police.
“And that’s frustrating, not only for the officers because they take pride in what they do, of course, but we hearing it from the communities.”
There has been growing calls from police forces, their unions and politicians at all levels to reform Canada’s bail system.
The federal Liberal government passed a bill that took effect last year changing the way bail is granted for some weapons offences and cases involving intimate partner violence. Another bill will be tabled in the fall to introduce stricter bail conditions and sentencing from some crimes, including offences involving organized crime, human trafficking, home invasion and auto theft.
But Couto said solving the problems raised by police and other critics will take a collaborative approach.
“It involves police, it involves corrections, it involves social work . . . We can’t just simply pass it off and blame one part of the system,” he said.
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