A man and a Toronto police officer were taken to hospital after an altercation with a parking officer turned physical Monday, police say.
Police say they were called to the Vaughan Road and Glenholme Avenue area just after noon by a parking officer who requested assistance following a dispute with a male driver.
An a news conference Monday afternoon, Det.-Sgt. Jeff Bassingthwaite said the driver was verbally abusing the parking officer. When police arrived, the driver turned violent and assaulted the two police officers, Bassingthwaite said.
“This is another incident where our members were assaulted because people are becoming violent over a parking ticket,” Bassingthwaite told reporters. “This is not acceptable. Our members should not be assaulted for doing their jobs.”
The alleged incident comes as abuse against parking enforcement officers has been on the rise in Toronto. Last year, police reported 46 assaults against Toronto parking enforcement officers, compared to 15 in 2022 and six in 2021.
The driver was arrested and taken to hospital with minor injuries.
The officers have non-life-threatening injuries. One was also taken to hospital, police say.
Toronto police are raising the alarm about the increase of assaults on parking enforcement officers in the city. Toronto police Chief Myron Demkiw said there have been 27 assaults so far this year, which he described as a “disturbing trend.” CBC’s Chris Glover spoke to parking enforcement officers about their experiences with violence on the job.
Toronto police denounced the rise in abuse over parking infractions at a news conference last month. Chief Myron Demkiw said then that increased traffic congestion in the city is likely to blame, but said violence was not an appropriate response to frustrations.
Part of the intersection of Vaughan Road and Glenholme Avenue was closed Monday afternoon while police investigated.