Halton Police retracted fraudulent news release

Halton police have dismissed news reports that they mistakenly identified a SickKids employee as a suspect in a door-to-door scam in Burlington.

In a statement issued at 1:20 p.m. Friday, police released a photo of a man they initially believed to be a fake canvasser wearing a SickKids logo, who had approached several residences asking for monetary donations.

Police said in a statement that they confirmed with SickKids that the man did not work at the hospital and that deputies were not in the area at the time.

Hours later, however, a Halton police spokesman said investigators believed the man “worked for SickKids.” They have since removed the news from their website.

CP24 has removed a photo shared by police prior to this incident.