CCPS Playing Politics With Public Safety Over Opioid Scare 110717

Cornwall Ontario – There is a true partnership between media and police services.   When there’s an emergency it’s important to reach as many people as possible and that’s where media come in.

Whether it be a public alert or a simple police blotter, police forces are expected to professionally conduct themselves and treat the media respectfully and fairly without favoring one outlet over another.

The CCPS have a media officer, Cst Dan Cloutier.

FIVE days ago, after a cryptic release from the EOHO over Carfentanil we sent the following email to Cst Cloutier.

 

Hi Cst Cloutier,

Has the CCPS had any calls/cases involving Carfentanil in 2017?
Cheers and thanks,
Short, professional, and a clear question.
Four days later the following email was sent after no reply.

Hi Cst Cloutier,

Can I get an answer to this email I sent you four days ago please?  I’m cc’g the Chief in case there’s some reason why you aren’t being allowed to answer the question and perhaps he can?

Thanks,

That email was sent because Cst Cloutier responded to a previous email about another issue suggesting I go through the Chief for information that day.
Tonight the Freeholder published a story with a quote from Cst Cloutier about this exact situation.
When CFN wrote about a report we had about Fentanyl tainted Marijuana being discovered in the area we were attacked by the Freeholder, essentially having our integrity questioned, with quotes from the CCPS.
The Freeholder story today essentially showed the EOHU release wasn’t based on police information.

according to Const. Dan Cloutier, who handles media relations for the Cornwall Community Police Service.

“The (CCPS) to date has not seized any carfentanil, nor have any of our seized drugs sent to Health Canada come back with traces of carfentanil,” Cloutier said on Tuesday. “We have no deaths linked to carfentanil.”

Cloutier added that the carfentanil problem in the country “is alarming, it’s a big concern and we certainly don’t want to see it in our city.”

In an advisory late last week, the health unit said it had confirmed the presence of carfentanil in the region, noting the deadly drug had been reported by a community partner, and the confirmation came from a urine sample that had tested positive.

The Opioid crisis is not something that should be tainted by petty ignorant corrupt small town politics by thin skinned people working on the public dime.   Frankly anyone that would risk the public’s safety by behaving like this should be terminated from their position.

Clearly both the EOHU and CCPS need to be more transparent and professional with all of their media partners so that we can truly be effective and help protect and inform the public before a tragedy occurs.

An official complaint has been lodged with the police force and City Hall.

2 Comments

  1. wholeheartedly agree, CFN. the opioid crisis is a major public health issue and the agencies responsible for educating people should use every possible media channel to share relevant information. it’s idiotic, neglectful and dangerously “small” to play games

  2. Hubby and I just spoke about this issue together just now. Hubby said that too many people are very stupid and will put anything into their bodies. Hubby knows of a taxi driver who was using hashish and lost control of his vehicle and went on the meridian. You want to show off well it will cost you your life as well as that of other people. I wouldn’t want that on my conscience.

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