RCMP Chipman response was for welfare check

Police advisory to avoid area of community arose from social workers’ check on children

An early-morning alert from the RCMP on Tuesday advising people to avoid an area of Chipman stemmed from police backup for a child-welfare check that proved tense, says a Mountie.

The RCMP in New Brunswick issued an advisory on social media at 3:35 a.m. Tuesday stating officers were on the scene of “a police operation” in Chipman and that people should avoid a certain area of the community, located about 70 kilometres east of Fredericton.

Less than an hour later, at 4:12 a.m., the RCMP advised the operation had concluded.

An RCMP cruiser. (Photo: Facebook)

It didn’t detail the nature of the police operation or what precipitated it, but it said it would provide more information later.

Sgt. Mark Blakely with the Minto detachment told the Fredericton Independent on Tuesday evening that the response had actually begun Monday evening.

Members of the Minto detachment were dispatched to a Chipman residence to assist social workers with the Department of Social Development (DSD) conduct a welfare check on some children at about 9 p.m. Monday night, he said.

But officials encountered some resistance upon their arrival, the officer said, as an adult male wouldn’t grant them entry.

“A man at the residence would not comply with DSD or the RCMP,” Blakely said.

Officials worked to de-escalate the situation with the man, he said, and RCMP officers remained on the scene to ensure public safety.

The impasse continued on into the next morning, the sergeant said, and the RCMP issued the advisory on social media just after 3:30 a.m. as a precaution.

He said circumstances didn’t meet the criteria for the issuance of an Alert Ready message pushed through electronic devices.

Eventually, Blakely said, officials on the scene were able to convince the man to let them check on the children in the residence.

“At approximately 4 a.m., the man complied with police,” he said.

The children were OK, he said, and there were no arrests or injuries.

At no time was there a threat to public safety, Blakely said.

Don MacPherson can be contacted at ftonindependent@gmail.com.