PORT HAWKESBURY: Police recently laid charges against a man who was arrested following a stand-off earlier this month.
On March 17, police officially charged Byron Arthur Parks with unauthorized possession of a firearm and uttering threats. He is expected to return to Port Hawkesbury Provincial Court for election and plea on May 9. Parks was charged in relation to an incident on March 7, when police responded to a call of a man with a firearm inside a residence on Tamarac Drive.
“The man was making threats to police,” said RCMP Staff Sgt. Greg Redl following the incident. “The detachment responded and contained the scene and our emergency response team was called.”
As part of the response, police set up road blocks at Chiavari Close and on Oak Crescent Streets. Sgt. Redl said the man exited the residence unarmed at around 5:25 p.m. and police arrested him without incident.
When asked if Parks is a former RCMP officer in the Port Hawkesbury area, RCMP media relations officer Cpl. Dal Hutchinson said he had nothing to confirm Parks’ connection to the police.
“I’ve had some questions raised with regards to our handling of it, given that people are saying he is a former member [of the RCMP] but I can tell you that the incident itself focused on the safety of the public, the members responding and everybody involved,” said Hutchinson. “I haven’t been officially told that he’s a former member.
“Even if officially I’m told that he is, it has no impact on how we responded to the situation.”