Initial strategy to end occupation through negotiation unsuccessful: interim police chief
Posted Mar 24, 2022 07:48:20 PM.
Ottawa's interim police chief appeared virtually before a parliamentary committee to talk about the downtown occupation, and was asked several questions relating to the Ottawa Police Service 's (OPS) response.
While speaking to the Standing Committee on Public Safety of National Security on Thursday, March 24, interim police chief Steve Bell said the police service's initial strategy to end the so-called “Freedom Convoy” was through negotiation.
However, Bell admits that didn't prove successful, adding it was difficult to determine protest organizers due to the “fractured and frayed” nature of the group.
“As a police service, we understood quickly that we needed assistance from all levels of government, in the form of legislative powers and policing resources, if we were to safely remove this unlawful protest from our streets,” Bell told the committee.
Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) Commissioner Thomas Carrique told the committee the occupation was deemed a national security threat about a week before the federal government invoked the Emergencies Act, but did not elaborate on specific details.
“We did identify it as a threat to national security through the provincial operational intelligence bureau on, or about, the 7th of February,” Carrique explained.
Bell feels the Emergencies Act, which was invoked on February 14, allowed the police to block off the downtown core to prevent people from joining the occupation.
During the committee meeting, the acting police chief was also questioned by MP's regarding numerous cases of laws being broken in the downtown occupation zone, within sight of police officers.
“There was no direction to disregard criminal activity of Highway Traffic Act activity,” Bell said. “In fact, what we have done is gathered information, intelligence and we continue to do investigations around that very activity.”
Bell added that 230 arrested were made during the occupation, resulting in 118 people being charged criminally.
