Defibrillator returned
Published: January 24, 2005
Life-saving device stolen from arena - Remorseful thief jolted by his guilt.
A defibrillator stolen from an Etobicoke sports centre has been returned by an apparently sheepish and sober thief.
Dan D’Alvise, general manager of Canlan Ice Sports Etobicoke, said the device — which can deliver a life-saving electric shock to those in cardiac distress — was discovered in a plastic bag at the Martin Grove Rd. arena yesterday following an anonymous phone tip telling staff where it was located.
Two men were caught on video about 2 a.m. Wednesday taking the $3,000 device and fleeing the building.
The thief also left a letter of apology, acknowledging — as D’Alvise suspected — that he didn’t even know what the device was and expressing his contrition, blaming too much alcohol.
“I’m elated,” D’Alvise said. “Everything’s back to status and we’ve got a safeguard in here in case we need to use it for heart resuscitation.
“(The thief) let us know he was the person who had taken it… he told us he had no idea what it was and that he only took it because he was under the influence (of alcohol) and was not thinking straight. He let us know he had returned it, apologized and said, `I do care about the people,’” D’Alvise said.
D’Alvise thanked the Star for a story in yesterday’s paper that “certainly got the message through quickly.”
Paramedic Garrie Wright, who co-ordinates the Cardiac Safe City program for Emergency Medical Services, expressed similar jubilation.
“I’d given up on it (defibrillator). I have to tell you I did not think anything would happen. An apology letter to boot — who says media doesn’t work? Holy mackerel,” Wright said.
The service oversees 73 of the devices at public places throughout Toronto and they’ve been used six times since last April, an indication of how valuable they are, he said.
D’Alvise said the remorseful thief may yet find himself on thin ice.
Toronto police returned to the site yesterday to take fingerprints and do further investigation of the theft.
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