London police won’t say why they called in a tactical squad from Waterloo, evacuated their headquarters and took more than nine hours to end a standoff with a distraught officer.

While police say their silence is meant to protect the officer, it’s their own hides they’re shielding from public scrutiny, John Sewell, a member of the Toronto Police Accountability Coalition, said Friday.

“What’s clear to me is that police are protecting themselves. They’re trying to protect the police force,” said Sewell, an ex-Toronto mayor.

The Free Press did not seek the name of the distraught officer but did press for answers Friday about the standoff that began about 2:30 p.m. Thursday and finished about 11:30 p.m..

“As it involves an employee, it is now a personnel matter and we cannot release information related to personnel matters,” Const. Sandasha Bough, a London police spokesperson, said.

No crimes were committed and no one was hurt, she said.

Left unanswered were questions the newspaper emailed to police, including:

• Did the officer threaten anyone in words or conduct?

•Did the officer threaten to kill or harm himself/herself?

• Did the officer have a weapon? If yes, what type of weapon?

• Where was the officer from 2:30 p.m. until 11:40 p.m. Was it, as unconfirmed reports suggested, in an ammo room by the shooting range?

•Why did London police call in Waterloo Regional police for help?

•Will the force review the incident to see if anything might have been done earlier to identify a potential risk and/or provide more supportive services?

Police Chief John Pare was unavailable for an interview, Bough said.

That silence is unacceptable, said Sewell, a longtime police critic. “This is public money . . . they are public officers and they have an obligation to say what happened” he said.

While the standoff at 601 Dundas St. ended without injury, it sparked a flurry of activity in the parking lot behind police headquarters.

Police vehicles, mostly SUVs and trucks, frequently came and went until shortly after midnight, many pulling close to a rear entrance.

Tactical officers were seen in a hallway inside the building around midnight.

Officers, including some wearing full body armour, started loading into four police vehicles — two of them unmarked — about 12:15 a.m. Friday.

Soon after the incident started, paramedics were called to police headquarters where a single ambulance remained in the complex’s rear parking lot off King Street at 11 p.m. Paramedics didn’t take anyone to hospital, they said.

A police cruiser blocked an exit to the parking lot, later allowing a vehicle convoy to exit onto King Street — one truck briefly going the wrong way on the one-way street — east toward Adelaide Street.

Except for the front lobby of police headquarters, the rest of the building has locked doors accessible to police and civilians who work there.

jsher@postmedia.com

dcarruthers@postmedia.com