Toronto police chief tries to allay concerns with internal memo after officer complaints

Toronto Police Chief Mark Saunders says officer concerns about staffing will be addressed as the force moves to a new policing model, according to an internal memo obtained by CBC Toronto.

• Toronto police officer says he's 'at risk' as only cop on patrol in his division

"I am aware that some of you are concerned about this and I understand that moving from the old policing model to a new model is not easy," the chief wrote in the memo.

"I want you to know that you the members are my priority every day."

The memo comes inresponse to an emailobtained by CBCTorontoin which a 55 Division officer describedfeeling unsafe at work.

The officer wrote that he was the only car on patrol on a Tuesday afternoon earlier this month, with one road sergeant available for backup. During the shift hehad five pending calls, including a sexual assault, an arrest involving three people, and a domestic assault, he said.

But the chief says that information is not correct.

According to the internal memo, while the officer may have been the only cop on parade, there were 15 officers total on the road in his district.

Saunders saysthat staff sergeants "have the responsibility to utilize the resources that are available" and that in the case of the 55 Division officer the escalation "did not take place."

• Toronto Police understaffed and officers 'burned out', union says

The Toronto Police Association says the email from the 55 Division officer is not unique, and that there are similar examples across the Toronto Police Service.

"We are past burning out, we are burnedout," TPApresident Mike McCormack said.

McCormack says there need to be more officers on the road, something the chief says he's open to, according to the memo.

"I [am] interested in hiring more than the recently announced 80 recruits however, that number would be determined through proper research and data analytics," the chief wrote.