Article content

Just two weeks into her new job as the head of London’s largest homeless shelter, it was trial by fire for Charlotte Dingwall.

Dingwall, the executive director at the Salvation Army Centre of Hope, says the shelter is reviewing its practices after a man was nearly beaten to death and four police officers were assaulted while responding to the attack at the downtown building.

We apologize, but this video has failed to load.

tap here to see other videos from our team. Try refreshing your browser, or Salvation Army shelter launches review after vicious beating Back to video

“It’s an unfortunate incident. We’re concerned about the well-being of the person that was harmed and the London police (officers),” said Dingwall, who took the helm of the Centre of Hope last month after the retirement of Nancy Powers.

“We’re always reviewing our practices and we want to make sure that we have everything in place — that we remain a welcoming place for everyone who accesses our services.”

Police responded to the Centre of Hope at 281 Wellington St., just north of Horton Street, for an unconscious person lying on the ground at 6:40 p.m. Monday.

A man, 35, who was hit with a metal chair and kicked, was taken to hospital where he remained in critical condition Thursday. Four officers were assaulted while arresting the suspect. Two of them had serious injuries, while a third had minor injuries, police said.

Damion Buckley, 31, of no fixed address, is charged with aggravated assault, resisting arrest, two counts of assaulting a peace officer causing bodily harm and two counts of assaulting a peace officer.

A shelter staffer said Buckley is a resident, but Dingwall wouldn’t confirm the detail, citing privacy rules.