Guelph Police issued a statement Thursday evening defending the fact it did not release information following the arrest of Kitchener South-Hespeler MP Marwan Tabbara in April.
On April 10 Tabbara was arrested and charged with two counts of assault, one count of breaking and entering to commit an indictable offence and one count of criminal harassment.
News of the arrest only became public through specific inquiries to Guelph Police weeks later.
"Daily Media Releases do not capture a comprehensive summary of all calls attended to by our members. In this case, the arrest of Mr. Tabbara was not brought to the attention of the media office," said the news release from Guelph Police.
"The Guelph Police Service adheres to the authorities as set out within s.41 of the Police Services Act and Reg. 265/98 thereunder for purposes of releasing information to the Public."
Guelph Police have declined any interviews on the matter and have said they will issue no further statements.
Guelph Police sends out a regular daily email to registered media and the public that outlines a highlight of the previous day's arrests. It's done through it's media communications officer.
That media release is not comprehensive of all calls they receive, just selected highlights.
It is also common that the media release does not get sent out on weekends when the media officer isn't working. In those situations, a duty sergeant fields any media inquiries. Tabbara was arrested on a Friday.
Guelph Police also used to release the names of those charged but stopped doing so a year ago under new policy guidelines implemented by its new police chief Gord Cobey. Some police forces continue to release names of charged individuals.
What police won't say is when they became aware Tabbara was an MP and why at that time the information regarding a prominent citizen facing serious charges wasn't released to the media.
Tabbara was granted bail. His next court appearance is scheduled for June 9.
