(Wingham, North Huron) Another violent incident in Wingham is raising serious questions about policing and response times after a resident reportedly called police for help during a confrontation involving a group in Cruickshank Park — only to wait approximately 30 minutes for officers to arrive.
During that time, the victim says he was chased through the streets, accosted and ultimately attacked, leaving him bloody and beaten on his own doorstep.
According to the victim, when police eventually arrived, officers told him there was little they could do because he had defended himself while being attacked, characterizing the incident as a “consensual fight.”
The victim also alleges officers told him he should have “turned the other cheek” and laughed during the interaction. If accurate, such a response would raise serious questions about how victims of violence are treated when they call police for protection.
The incident has added to growing concerns among some area residents and rights activists about policing in Huron County: Is the victim being blamed while the aggressor walks away?
Residents have pointed to a series of disturbing incidents in the area, including reports of people being accosted or assaulted in public and an especially serious incident involving a student who was reportedly set on fire.
Those concerns intensified following the February 17 incident in Wingham, when a man involved in an altercation was arrested and charged despite maintaining that he had acted in self-defence. Those charges were later withdrawn after the Crown concluded there was no reasonable prospect of conviction.
That outcome has left another unanswered question: If the man who was charged was acting in lawful self-defence, why has the alleged aggressor not been charged?
Members of the public continue to demand an explanation and accountability.
A person who calls 911 while being pursued by a hostile group should reasonably expect police assistance before the confrontation reaches his own doorstep. A person who protects himself from an unlawful attack should not automatically be treated as though he consented to being assaulted.
And when the police response itself becomes part of the controversy, the public deserves answers.
Thirty minutes can be a very long time when you’re waiting for help.