TORONTO -- Durham police say that they have been made aware of a series of threats that were made against a Courtice retirement home and its staff over the weekend after reports that door handles were removed from suites belonging to some residents became public.
Police confirmed on Saturday that they were investigating allegations that staff at White Cliffe Terrace Retirement Residence removed door handles from some units, effectively locking the residents inside.
In a news release issued on Monday, Durham police said that their investigation into the incident remains “ongoing” and that the DRPS Criminal Investigations Bureau at East Division “will be reaching out to our community partners and oversight bodies to properly address these concerns.”
Police, however, say that they are also now conducting a separate investigation after receiving “complaints of threats being made against the home/staff at the retirement residence over the weekend.”
Police have not commented on the nature of these threats at this time.
CP24 and CTV News Toronto previously obtained a copy of a letter that Verve Senior Living, the company that runs the home, sent to families of residents on Feb. 10.
In it, they confirmed that a “small” number of door handles were removed and that the general manger of the home has been placed on leave in the wake of the incident.
“It was a violation of our protocols and practices. As soon as we became aware of the incident, all resident's door handles were immediately reinstalled,” David Bird, president and CEO of Verve Senior Living, wrote in the letter.
