EMAIL THREATS
Mayor Clugston praises the work of his staff and police
Medicine Hat Mayor Ted Clugston has “great things to say” about city staff and police over their handling of violent threats received by his office, which have led to the arrest of one man.
As first reported by the Medicine Hat News, the arrest was made Jan. 12 after an escalating series of emails were sent to the Mayor’s office and police threatening violence against city government, police and the prime minister .
Clugston was informed about the situation by his staff as the emails began to come in, and police were contacted.
He hasn’t read all the emails, save for the more “egregious” parts staff highlighted for him.
“For me, I think this gentleman was basically frustrated with life, frustrated with the system and authority — and basically lashing at whoever,” he said, and this meant the mayor, police and prime minister.
Because the threats were more general, Clugston says it made him not as concerned as if they had been particularly addressed to him and his family.
“It was more position than person, for me.”
Police say that to date their investigation hasn’t revealed a specific plan to carry out the threats.
There was a sense of relief when the arrest was made, said Clugston.
“I really hope this individual — I’m sure this is a mental health issue — that he gets the help needs, whatever that might be,” he said.
“It’s unfortunate that in this day and age with electronic media, with social media and stuff, that I think maybe some of this is a little easier to do than it was in the past,” he added. “But I think that people are taking this more seriously now. They used to brush it off — but then you brush it off, and what if something happens? Well then, everyone is in trouble.”
Angry or strange emails and calls are par for the course for the Mayor’s office.
“I feel for my staff for having to deal with it on a dayto-day basis. There’s a lot of mental health issues out there frankly, and people email them some pretty outrageous stuff, it’s not always threatening,” Clugston said, adding that many of the emails are anonymous.
“It’s not just email; it’s Facebook and Twitter, those things,” he said. “I have to admit, my Facebook page, yes I get some nasty opinions and comments, but I’ve never ever had anyone threaten physical violence.”
One safety measure that’s occurred in the past decade is having a glass security door installed in the mayor’s office under the term of former mayor Norm Boucher, said Clugston, while other measures would be handled through staff’s health and safety committee.
“We’ve been actually talking about protocols even for city council meetings,” said Clugston. “What if there was an active shooter that came into council? What would city council do? How would we get out of that situation? Those kind of things.”
William Benham, 52, of Medicine Hat was charged with one count of uttering threats to cause damage to property, and one count of threats to cause death. He remains in custody, with his next court appearance Jan. 24.