Sault Ste. Marie Police Service Chief Hugh Stevenson says he will not step down from his position over the way his police service handled a 911 call made by one of the victims of last year's horrific mass shooting that claimed the lives of four innocent people.
In a recent letter to the editor that appeared in The Sault Star, a member of the public wrote that Stevenson should resign over the “failures” of his police service after it was revealed that critical information regarding intimate partner violence (IPV) was not relayed to officers responding to a 911 call made by Angie Sweeney the day before she was killed by ex-boyfriend Bobbie Hallaert.
On the night of Oct. 23, 2023, Hallaert shot Sweeney inside her Tancred Street house. He then drove to a Second Line home where he killed his three children — Abbie, Nate and Ally — and wounded a second woman before fatally turning the gun on himself.
“Will the chief resign?” asked the author of the letter. “Other Ontario chiefs of police in municipalities across this province have either resigned, been forced to resign or been fired, for less incompetence and certainly less dead bodies.”
Earlier this month, Stevenson disclosed to the media that Sweeney had phoned 911 from the same Tancred Street address the day before the murders to report a "verbal argument" with Hallaert. Sweeney also informed the dispatcher that she had a physical altercation with him approximately two weeks earlier. The information was not placed in the computerized notes for the call, nor was that information relayed to the responding officers.
Sault police launched a six-month pilot project earlier this month aimed at reviewing every intimate partner violence (IPV) call for service that doesn’t result in an arrest. The announcement came a week after CBC News published an in-depth article under the headline Missed chances, lives lost, which explored how the mass shooting could have possibly been prevented.
Stevenson quickly shut down the idea of resigning from his job when asked by SooToday following a presentation on the IPV pilot project, which took place during Thursday's meeting of the Sault Ste. Marie Police Services Board.
“As a leader of an organization, there’s many things that happen. I’ve been fortunate to be the chief here for five years. I’m not perfect in any way, shape or form. We do our best as an agency — and as a leader, I’m responsible for what happens in this agency,” Stevenson told reporters. “But I don’t think the document that was put out is accurate in terms of what we’re trying to do to reduce domestic violence, our relationships with different members in this community.
“I am extremely saddened by the fact of what happened and the loss of life, and I take it personally that it happened. But I don’t believe there’s anything I could’ve done at the time that I knew would’ve changed it. I can tell you one thing, though: After this thing happened, I did not sit back and say everything’s fine. I said we have to look inside to see what we can do in terms of our processes, in terms of our understanding and education and training. And I have done that.”
Stevenson then proceeded to scrawl the words "fact check" on a notepad immediately after responding to the question.
According to a report by deputy chief Brent Duguay, Sault Police have identified 93 suspected IPV situations that were followed up on by officers through its new pilot project, along with a half-dozen situations that have warranted further police action. It’s unclear if any charges have been laid as a result of the pilot project, which is now in its third week.
“That’s six situations where one of these victims would not have been safe and disclosed further information that caused a police investigation,” Stevenson told police board members Thursday. “I’m very comfortable with where we’re going, because to me it’s an added measure in this agency — and I know other agencies are considering it across the province once we started it.”
Sault Police now reviews all calls for service from the previous day in search of IPV-related issues. Officers are then deployed to follow up with individuals to ensure there's a safety plan in place and they're informed of services and resources available to them.
Duguay noted to members of the police board that most of the calls followed up on concern property removal, custody disputes and calls for removing an individual from a residence. “We’re finding an opportunity then presents itself the following day when the individuals are separated for some possible disclosures of actual partner violence,” he said.
A database will eventually be created in order to inform Sault Ste. Marie Police Service on what situations are more likely to result in further police action or charges related to IPV incidents.
— with files from Kenneth Armstrong