The Canadian flag at city hall was flying at half-mast Thursday and police scaled back their presence at city buildings after a City of Vancouver sanitation manager was murdered Wednesday outside his home in Burnaby.
Officials would not confirm the employee’s name but the victim’s house at 7988 Wickham Pl. has a phone number registered to Hanif Jessa, who is listed in a city staff directory as a night shift superintendent of street cleaning.
In a statement issued Thursday morning, Mayor Gregor Robertson said he was shocked and saddened to learn of the man’s death and extended his condolences to family and friends of the victim.
“This is obviously a very disturbing event for city staff, particularly those who knew and worked with our colleague,” he said, noting counselling and support services were being offered to employees.
After the man was shot Wednesday afternoon near Canada Way, the Vancouver Police Department quickly mobilized its officers, some carrying high-powered rifles, to stand guard outside city hall, the works yard in south Vancouver and other city buildings.
Sgt. Randy Fincham, a VPD media relations officer, said the police presence was necessary because the department was worried about the safety of “multiple employees based on something that happened in another jurisdiction.”
“Police attended those job sites and made sure that Vancouver city employees were safe,” Fincham told the Courier Thursday. “As last night progressed, some of those job sites closed down. So there was an ongoing risk assessment into the night as to whether police were required at all those buildings, or not. Today, we do believe that risk or that threat to Vancouver employees has been drastically reduced.”
Fincham wouldn’t elaborate on why the threat was reduced and referred the Courier to the Integrated Homicide Investigations Team, which had not returned calls before the paper’s print deadline. As of Thursday morning, none of the agencies had released any information on whether a suspect had been arrested.
Rena Kendall-Craden, director of the city’s communications department, said the investigation was in the hands of the police and declined to comment further on details tying the homicide to the City of Vancouver.
“Out of respect for the family, we’re not confirming anything yet,” Kendall-Craden told the Courier Thursday morning. “Crews are being talked to at Manitoba [works] yard this morning. So we have messages to all our staff.”
A statement issued Thursday from the City of Vancouver said “the city is returning to normal operations” but that the city’s management team continues to work with the VPD to determine whether any further security measures are needed as the investigation continues.
“Waiting for the results of the police investigation is very difficult in these situations,” the statement said. “These things are complex, take time and require much patience. Any information which comes available to us will be shared with staff.”
The homicide led to evacuations Wednesday afternoon at the Manitoba and National works yards. A worker at National Works Yard on the False Creek Flats, who declined to be named in print, said workers were immediately told to park vehicles and go home at 2:45 p.m. on Wednesday.
Police told workers they hoped the incident would be resolved by 11 p.m. The worker said they were informed the matter involved an unspecified threat by a former city worker against a manager. The worker said a photograph of a person of interest was circulated for security reasons.
Warren Williams, president of CUPE Local 15, which represents city workers, said he was shocked by Wednesday’s events, saying “you don’t want to think that that could happen in your community but it has.” Williams said he had no information to confirm public reports that the shooting may be linked to a disgruntled employee.
“There’s nothing coming from our end on that,” he said, noting he wasn’t aware of any previous grievances that would have led to the manager’s death. “If that’s the case, I wouldn’t be aware of it because it’s not coming from our Local.”
Williams said his knowledge of the shooting and the motivation for the crime is limited because of the police investigation. But he said he was confident security measures were in place for workers.
“It seems that the City of Vancouver and the VPD are doing a really good job of ensuring that our members are safe, and work is going on as usual today,” he added.
@Howellings
— with files from Bob Mackin
