I was a Jerk last night, and feel like shit now.
Police received 911 calls about timing of Amber Alert
The Amber Alert for Riya Rajkumar was sent out to mobile devices through Canada’s new mobile emergency alert system.
In a message posted to Twitter on Friday morning, Peel Regional Police said that they received numerous 911 calls complaining about the timing of the alert.
Peel police, however, pointed out that they were able to locate the suspect “as a direct result of someone receiving the alert,” proving that “the system works.”
Speaking with CP24 on Friday morning, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown said that anyone complaining about being awoken by an Amber Alert “is being a jerk.”
“If there was even a remote chance that a late night text would provide a clue that would have saved an 11-year-olds life then thank goodness we have the Amber Alert system and anyone complaining frankly is being a jerk,” he said. “Imagine this was a member of your family. Imagine this 11-year-old was your niece or your daughter.”
Brown wasn’t the only one to speak out about complaints regarding the Amber Alert on Friday morning.
Jennifer Neville-Lake, whose three children and father were killed in a drunk driving crash in Vaughan in 2015, took to Twitter to express her dismay.
“I remember very well that sick feeling of dread when my kids were late getting dropped off and I couldn’t get a hold of my parents to find out why. The fear and crying. The screaming. I would have woken up everyone to find them,” she said.