There, organizer Judith Gale claimed an “assault” was committed by mall security against a person with “mental health and addictions” challenges. “There was so much blood,” Gale said Tuesday. “He was just trying to escape the cold.” Gale said she was called to the mall by people who were there. She posted a video on Facebook where she can be heard screaming and cursing. The woman who was arrested had a “trespassing restraining order” and was escorted out of the mall twice but kept coming back inside, an Edmonton police spokesman said. After being taken to a holding cell at the mall, police responded to a “person problem” call, Scott Pattison said, adding that officers will investigate.
“PEOPLE NEED A PLACE TO GO”
But the issue is bigger than one woman and a mall, said the director of programs at Boyle Street Community Services, a charity with a shelter a few blocks from the mall. Despite recent investment from governments, there is still not enough space to get everyone off the streets, Aidan Inglis said. “Whether it’s a mall, or stores like ours or others in the city, capacity always becomes an issue,” he told CTV News Edmonton Wednesday. “People need a place to go during the day that isn’t just a bed.” Boyle Street has a relationship with the mall, in part to prevent what happened on Monday. “We’re working, again, proactively with security so they know this is a resource that might be available so it doesn’t all have to be done through an enforcement lens,” Inglis said.
“ZERO TOLERANCE POLICY”
City Center Mall initially declined requests for comment, but a spokesman issued a statement Tuesday. It noted cooperation with Boyle Street and other agencies, but it was unclear if staff called one before or during Monday’s incident. The woman arrested “is very familiar to both our security team and the police,” said marketing director Zaina Yusuf. “As is standard policy, management is currently investigating the incident to ensure policies and procedures were followed,” Yusuf told CTV News Edmonton. It also referred to a “zero tolerance policy toward any aggressive or threatening behavior,” but did not say exactly what the woman did to warrant the arrest. She was taken to the hospital with non-life threatening injuries, EPS said. Videos of the fight were posted online, with witness Yasin Cetin saying: “Although she was resisting, the force used to ‘restrain’ her was excessive.”
“TRULY UNACCEPTABLE”
The local councilor has some sympathy for the mall and other downtown businesses, which are struggling with “social disorder” in the city’s core. A recent homeless count in Edmonton put that number at about 3,000. “I think what City Center Mall is going through is really unacceptable. They’re spending millions of dollars a year on security, which they shouldn’t be doing as a business,” said Ward O-day’min Coun. said Anne Stevenson. As for Gale, she was asked if a private business like a mall is the right place for homeless people to regularly seek warmth. “Absolutely, the mall is a haven for anyone downtown,” he replied. With files by Jeremy Thompson of CTV News Edmonton
