Premier turns down mayor's 2nd call for extra police funding

Alberta's premier has rejected Calgary Mayor Dave Bronconnier'slatest plea for $25 million to hire more police officers in the wake of threeshootings in the Calgary area, including one that permanently blinded a bystander.

Speaking to reporters ata conference in Banff on Thursday, Ed Stelmach said he was sorry to heara 24-year-old Brazilian student was shot in the face with a single bullet while walking with his girlfriend downtown.

But the premier againturned down the mayor's request for $25 million,reiteratingthe provincial government's budget promise of funding 300 new officers for Alberta over the next three years, which includes 100 for Calgary. Stelmach said that plan was made with police input and won't be revisited unless the police chiefs call for moreresources when they meet with the minister of justice later this month.

"Iam going tolisten to the police chiefs. I'm going to listen to the justice minister," Stelmach said. "So that not only do we have more police on the streets, but we also follow up. [So] that after all the good work that our police do, the very same culprits aren't back out doing the very same thing that they weredoing in the first place."

'A very dark day'

On Wednesday, Bronconnier said the shooting of the Brazilian student marked "a very dark day in Calgary's history."

For a second time, the mayorcalled on Stelmachto pony upthe $25 million needed to hire200 more police officers, a request the premier had already rejected in late August.

"Our greatest fear is that this isn't the end of it," said Bronconnier. "Which is why it's time to move forward quickly. There's no time to wait, and yes that means moving forward with a provincial-wide strategy to match where this city's at and get on with it."

Bronconnier said city council, which recently fast-tracked the allocation ofmoney to hire 201 more police officers, will go it alone if the province won't act. When asked if he would spend the money even if it means running a deficit, the mayor said he wouldn't rule it out.

Mount Royal College criminologist Mahfooz Kanwar told CBC News that gang members are taking advantage of the police shortage and Calgarians will question the province if the premier fails to act.

"You have an $8 billion surplus. Can't you spend $25 million and have 200 more? It amazes me."

3shootings in 14 hours

The shooting that blinded the bystander was the first of three shootings within a 14-hour period in the Calgary area.

RCMP in the town of Chestermere, east of Calgary, said they found a man dead on the steps of his home Tuesday night. The man was shot just before midnight in the Westlake subdivision, where he lived with his family. Police said the shooting was not random.

OnWednesday afternoon, there was another shooting on Queensland Drive S.E. in Calgary.Neighbours reported hearing shots just before noon. Paramedics said they treated two men. One man suffered a minor gunshot wound to the abdomen, while the other was assaulted.

Police Chief Rick Hanson said Wednesday that as well as putting more boots on the ground, action has to be taken on the weapons used to commit shooting crimes.

"The proliferation of illegal handguns that are coming into the country is scary, and when we do apprehend and seize these, there has to be significant sentences to make the point," he said.