Overdose death comes day after Victoria changes first responder safety policy

There has been a decease connected an infamous artifact of a Victoria street, conscionable 1 time aft first responders changed their consequence argumentation owed to a convulsive incident successful nan aforesaid area.

Under nan caller policy, paramedics and firefighters won’t respond to calls successful nan 900 artifact of Pandora Avenue without a constabulary escort.

The change, made astatine nan petition of nan 2 agencies, came aft a paramedic was attacked and injured while providing personification aesculapian attention.

The pursuing day, a 38-year-old female died of an overdose.

Victoria constabulary opportunity nan caller argumentation was not a facet successful nan response.

“I tin opportunity our consequence clip successful that lawsuit was very quick, and we were really fresh to move into nan artifact anterior to nan occurrence section being really disposable successful there,” Victoria constabulary Deputy Chief of Operations Jamie McRae told Global News.

On Wednesday, constabulary said they had seized a ample cache of weapons successful nan 900 block, including a loaded handgun, knives, machetes and carnivore spray.

“There are those risks retired there,” BC Emergency Health Services spokesperson Brian Twaites said.

“Knowing location are weapons successful place, I deliberation everybody is rather thankful … to cognize that Victoria constabulary is like, ‘No, we are not going to fto you spell successful location until we tin guarantee your safety.’”

Esquimalt, which shares a constabulary unit pinch Victoria, is besides raising concerns astir nan caller policy.

Mayor Barbara Desjardins said if VicPD officers are tied up handling calls connected Pandora, nan section could beryllium forced to propulsion officers from her organization if location was an emergency.

“It’s a immense strain connected nan force,” she said, adding that a hold successful consequence could “mean nan quality betwixt life and death.”

Desjardins said nan state needs to measurement successful pinch a scheme to resoluteness nan situation connected nan street, and not effort and lick it successful a piecemeal fashion.

Trending Now

She said that whitethorn impact making reliable choices for illustration institutionalizing group pinch utmost intelligence wellness aliases supplier challenges against their will.

“The eventual consequence and nan 1 we should person been moving connected for years is getting nan due lodging and curen and support accommodation for group that person nan challenges they person down connected Pandora,” she said.

“Right now what’s happened is you person susceptible group and you person a criminal element.”

Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth said nan state remains focused connected solutions for nan area “in position of ensuring nan services that request to beryllium location are location — and successful position of uncovering further lodging opportunities.”

But McRae acknowledged nan caller argumentation is not sustainable successful nan agelong term.

He said officials will request to travel up pinch a scheme to amended nationalist information successful nan neighbourhood, 1 that will return some clip and nan engagement of organization partners and societal services successful nan area.

“It’s a drain connected our resources, it is challenging for us,” he said of nan constabulary escort policy.

“But it is besides not providing nan champion work for nan organization members successful that area who request contiguous astatine times aesculapian response, and often don’t request nan services of nan constabulary department.”