Man charged in Edmonton hostage-taking

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By CBC News, cbc.ca, Updated: October 22, 2009 8:00 PMMan charged in Edmonton hostage-taking

A carpenter out of work because of an injury has been charged after a hostage-taking at the Workers' Compensation Board in downtown Edmonton, police said Thursday.

Patrick Charles Clayton, 38, faces nine counts of unlawful confinement, six counts of pointing a firearm and charges of possession of an offensive weapon dangerous to the public, careless use and storage of a firearm and use of a firearm during the commission of an offence.

Clayton's first court appearance is scheduled for Friday morning.

On Thursday, Edmonton Police released more details of the incident.

A man with a rifle entered the WCB building at 107th Street and 99th Avenue on Wednesday at 8:30 a.m. local time and took nine hostages, police said.

At a news conference Thursday afternoon, Insp. Neil Dubord of Edmonton police confirmed the man had reached "a point in his relationship with WCB that he perceived it required drastic action to resolve."

The man who entered the building had a high-powered rifle and "many rounds" of ammunition, Dubord said.

"As he entered the front doors, he fired off one round that went into a cinder-block wall. No one was hurt from this round, and at this time we are not sure if it was intended to hit anyone."

9 hostages

After the shot was fired, the man ordered people to get into the elevator with him and they went to a conference room on the eighth floor, Dubord said. Nine hostages were taken, but one was released right away because of a medical condition.

Of the eight remaining hostages, seven were employees of the board and one was a claimant. None were involved with the alleged gunman's case, Dubord said.

During the day-long negotiations with police, one hostage after another was released, with the first leaving the conference room at 10:30 a.m. The gunman surrendered at 6:18 p.m. local time.

"At the start of this, Mr. Clayton was very clear that he had no intention of leaving the WCB building alive," Dubord said. "But as the day progressed and through the work of the hostage negotiator, he was able to convince Mr. Clayton to be able to leave peacefully and bring a successful conclusion to this incident."

No one was hurt.

On Wednesday afternoon, a man identifying himself as the hostage-taker called CBC News in Edmonton to complain about the treatment he had received from the WCB. He said he had been injured on the job and was unable to work, and the board had unfairly cut off his benefits.

Accused abusive and drug user, ex-wife alleges

According to court documents obtained by CBC News, Clayton's ex-common-law wife said she was afraid he would physically harm her.

A restraining order was granted in May 2009 that required Clayton to keep from coming within 200 metres of her and not to communicate with her.

In an affidavit sworn in support of that court order, the woman alleged she feared his unpredictable behaviour and drug abuse, which she said included the use of crack cocaine.

The couple separated in late 2005. In the affidavit, she alleged Clayton continued to harass her afterwards, including sending up to 30 phone messages and 20 text messages in one day, which she characterized as threatening and insulting.

Security questioned

The incident is raising questions about safety within all government buildings.

The WCB confirmed Thursday it is reviewing security at its building in downtown Edmonton, even though a spokesperson described the procedures as "solid."

"We are looking at our procedures. We are reviewing what worked and what didn't work so that we can address that and that's happening today," WCB spokesperson Jennifer Dagsvik said.

But Daniel Clayton, a security expert unrelated to the accused, said he sold his security company because he feels the standards for guards in Alberta are too low.

"As long as you don't have a criminal record and you're over the age of 18 years old, basically anybody can be a security officer," he said. "You don't even need any training whatsoever, and that's kind of scary when you put security officers in charge of … government buildings and banks and places like that when they're really the first responders."

He also said government buildings should be equipped with metal detectors like those at courthouses.

Premier Ed Stelmach said officials will review how a man with a gun was able to get into the building.

"That is a point of discussion between the solicitor general, police services and just to get more input on how events like this can be prevented in the future," he told reporters Thursday morning.

"I'm sure that the Edmonton Police Service, our own security detail, the sheriffs and also the solicitor general, the justice minister, will be looking at what had happened and then what we can learn from that to either change the security in public buildings or how we address a situation like that and ensure that it doesn't happen in the future."

Staff at the Workers' Compensation Board returned to work Thursday morning. People were hugging each other, grateful Wednesday's incident was over, Dagsvik said.

"What I just saw was ... a lot of love pouring out between staff. They're very close here," she said.

Counselling was made available to people who requested it.

Neighbour 'blown away' when he heard the news of hostage-taking at WCB
By CLARA HO, SUN MEDIA

Last Updated: 23rd October 2009, 2:49am
Email Story Print Size A A A Report Typo Share with:
Facebook Digg Del.icio.us Google Stumble Upon Newsvine Reddit Technorati Feed Me Yahoo Simpy Squidoo Spurl Blogmarks Netvouz Scuttle Sitejot + What are these? Residents of a southside assisted-living complex are still in shock that one of their neighbours has been charged with holding people hostage Wednesday at the Workers' Compensation Board building.

"I was blown away when I heard the news," said a man, who only wanted to be identified as Patrick. "He doesn't seem like a violent person."

Patrick Charles Clayton, 38, has been charged with nine counts of unlawful confinement, six counts of pointing a firearm, possession of an offensive weapon dangerous to the public, careless use or storage of a firearm and use of a firearm during the commission of an offence.

Police said at 8:30 a.m., the man allegedly took nine people hostage at the downtown building at 9912 107 St., armed with a rifle and ammunition, and locked eight of them in an eighth-floor conference room.

He released them as the day progressed, freeing the last hostage and surrendering to police at 6:18 p.m.

He had initially planned to take his own life, police said, adding he never intended to harm any of the seven WCB workers and the male WCB claimant he had confined in the conference room for nearly 10 hours.

Patrick said he was stunned to learn that Clayton was the accused gunman.

He described his neighbour as a "cordial" man, somewhat outgoing, who liked to talk about football and hockey when the two ran into each other in the elevator.

"He was a really nice guy, always helping the handicapped people here. He looked like he was good to his son," Patrick said.

Patrick didn't know any details about his neighbour's gripe with the WCB, except he noticed that the man appeared to walk with difficulty and even a slight limp. Another neighbour, Don Bellerose, had told Sun Media that the man was upset with the WCB and that a WCB doctor had wrenched his knee too far, tearing ligaments.

Other residents at the apartment, who declined to provide their names, were overheard expressing surprise at the incident.

Patrick said he has a co-worker currently going through a tough time filing a WCB claim for an injured leg, so he can understand the gunman's frustration.

"But there are other roads you can take," said Patrick. "And unfortunately, the road he chose is going to send him to prison."

CLARA.HO@SUNMEDIA.CA

No plans to hurt others
But 'accused had no intention of leaving WCB alive,' say cops

By CLARA HO, SUN MEDIA

Last Updated: 23rd October 2009, 2:49am
Email Story Print Size A A A Report Typo Share with:
Facebook Digg Del.icio.us Google Stumble Upon Newsvine Reddit Technorati Feed Me Yahoo Simpy Squidoo Spurl Blogmarks Netvouz Scuttle Sitejot + What are these? The man accused in Wednesday's dramatic hostage-taking at the Workers' Compensation Board building had no intention of hurting anyone but himself, say police.

"At the start of this, (accused gunman Patrick) Clayton was very clear he had no intention of leaving the WCB building alive," said Insp. Neil Dubord, incident commander, speaking to reporters at police headquarters yesterday afternoon.

"We had no indication he was going to harm anyone else. He indicated very early that he wanted to see the safe release of all hostages in this particular situation."

A hostage negotiator was able to eventually convince the gunman to surrender peacefully, ending the ordeal after 10 hours with no injuries.

Clayton, 38, of Edmonton, faces a series of charges in connection with the hostage-taking, including nine counts of unlawful confinement, six counts of pointing a firearm, possession of an offensive weapon dangerous to the public, careless use or storage of a firearm and use of a firearm during the commission of an offence. He is expected to appear in court today and has also been ordered to undergo a mental exam.

The harrowing incident began at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday when a gunman walked through the front door of the building at 9912 107 St. armed with a high-powered rifle and many rounds of ammunition.

FIRED OFF ONE ROUND

He fired off one round that went into a cinder-block wall before ordering nine people into an elevator with him, taking the group to a conference room on the eighth floor. One hostage was immediately released because of a medical condition while the eight other hostages -- seven WCB workers and one male claimant -- were left locked in the room with the man.

The gunman then called 911 to report the incident to police, Dubord said, adding he was soon put in touch with a hostage negotiator, who remained on the phone with the man throughout the day.

Soon after, members from the tactical team, the traffic section, downtown division and detectives from all over the city arrived to secure the scene and evacuate the building.

In total, about 630 employees safely left the building as nearby buildings were also evacuated and roads leading to the area were quickly blocked off.

At no point did the man indicate why he took the group hostage, Dubord said.

"I think this particular suspect had reached his end. He felt there was no other way to be able to resolve this situation he faced with WCB," Dubord said.

"I'm not sure in the end he succeeded in what he was looking to do."

A neighbour of the gunman told reporters Wednesday the man was upset with the WCB and that a WCB doctor had wrenched his injured knee too far, tearing ligaments and worsening the pain.

'EMOTIONAL OUTBREAKS'

As the day continued, the man was occasionally sent water, food and cigarettes he demanded as the negotiator worked to maintain the man's trust, Dubord said, adding: "The hostage-taker went through a series of emotional outbreaks that allowed us to be able to work with him and work through some of his issues."

By mid-afternoon the gunman was convinced to free all the WCB employees, some of them released one at a time and others in groups of two. Finally, at 6:18 p.m., the gunman surrendered with the last hostage -- the male WCB claimant.

While Dubord said he cannot comment on the security measures of the WCB, he confirmed that police regularly train WCB staff with regards to high-risk scenarios like this.

The investigation continues.

CLARA.HO@SUNMEDIA.CA