On Saturday evening, a woman went to St. Thomas Police headquarters herself. She said she was afraid for her safety and her family’s safety, and that her ex-partner had assaulted her before, threatened her, and damaged their home. Police tried to find the man that night and could not. They applied for a warrant. On Sunday, extra police resources responded near Elm Street and Parkside Drive to find him and make the arrest safely. Police say the area is clear now and there is no threat to public safety.
Four different police teams took part in Sunday’s response: the Critical Incident Response Team, the Criminal Investigations Branch, the K-9 Unit and Uniform Patrol. By that evening, the man was arrested without incident. He was charged with assault causing bodily harm by choking, uttering threats to cause death, three counts of failing to comply with a release order, and failing to comply with a probation order. Those match the charges police had already said they intended to lay. He will be held for a court appearance. Police are not releasing more details about what happened, to protect the identity of the person who was hurt.
Four teams for one arrest can look alarming if you do not know why police have that option. St. Thomas Police announced the Critical Incident Response Team in March 2024, after a rise in violent crime in the city. Chief Marc Roskamp described it then as a containment team: about a dozen officers, each with regular frontline or investigative duties, trained to safely contain a situation involving someone who may be armed or dangerous and resolve it peacefully. That is what Sunday looked like from the outside. Police set up containment around a residence near Elm and Parkside, and the man was taken into custody without further incident.
The city’s own police numbers explain why the service has been adding capacity. Chief Roskamp’s report to the Police Services Board, dated July 24th and passed to city council on August 10th, uses Statistics Canada’s Crime Severity Index, which weighs both how much crime is reported and how serious it is. In 2024, St. Thomas’s violent crime index jumped from 70.7 to 80.6. The report calls that a serious concern that required deliberate action. By 2025 it had fallen back to 66.6, down 17.4 percent in a single year. The city’s overall index fell 6.1 percent in 2025 and is down 10.1 percent since 2023. The report credits investments council and the board made in recent years: the Community Resource Unit, the Street Crime and Property Crime Units, a Crime Analysis Unit, a second police dog team, upgraded forensics work, and more officers on the front line. It also says the drop cannot be pinned on any one unit or program.
That building continues. At the same August 10th meeting, council supported buying two tactical response vehicles for the team at $159,900 plus taxes, paid from police development charge reserves. Chief Roskamp told council the vehicles are about readiness as the city grows.
The same report is clear that the work is not finished, and it names intimate partner violence specifically as one of the areas still causing concern. A councillor asked Chief Roskamp whether that was something specific to St. Thomas. He told council those statistics are up nationally. Police are still studying possible causes, including lasting effects from the pandemic and whether some support services families once relied on are no longer there.
St. Thomas Police also told council they now have provincial funding for a more proactive approach. A social worker embedded with the police service can be sent along on calls involving family conflict, before things escalate. The same social worker can meet with both the accused and the person who was hurt after an arrest. The goal is to break a repeating cycle of violence, not just respond to the next call.
Women and children dealing with abuse in a relationship, and anyone worried about someone who is, can reach Valora Place at 1-800-265-4305. It was formerly known as Violence Against Women Services Elgin County. The St. Thomas-based organization runs a free, confidential helpline any hour of the day, along with an emergency shelter and counselling for the St. Thomas, Aylmer and West Lorne area. Ontario’s Victim Support Line, 1-888-579-2888, is available around the clock for anyone affected by crime.
Sources: St. Thomas Police Service media release, September 13, 2026, 8:27 p.m., St. Thomas Police Service media release, September 13, 2026 (morning), St. Thomas Police Service media release, September 13, 2026, 7:20 p.m., St. Thomas Police Services Board Reports #CHIEF-2026-24 and #CHIEF-2026-28, forwarded to the August 10, 2026 council agenda, ianscityscope.com, March 9, 2024
By Anthony Zruna · About the LocVox Newsroom
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