A man was taken into custody by the New Westminster Police Department for threatening hospital staff at the Royal Columbian Hospital earlier this month. The incident unfolded around 10:30 a.m. on Oct. 4, when officers responded to a 911 call reporting the threat.
Upon their arrival, officers found the man armed with a weapon and attempted to de-escalate the situation. Despite police instructions to drop the weapon, the man did not comply, leading to the use of a conducted energy weapon to safely apprehend him.
Fraser Health’s director of operations for integrated protection services, Jonathan Acorn, confirmed that the individual had been admitted to the hospital on the same day but has since been discharged.
The BC Nurses Union president, Adriane Gear, has been advocating for improved security measures and violence prevention training for healthcare workers due to the escalating safety concerns in healthcare settings.