Double standard with police response to protests 'couldn't be further from the truth': Ottawa police chief
CTV
Ottawa Police Chief Eric Stubbs is clarifying the actions of the Ottawa Police Service's response to last week's 'Freedom Convoy' anniversary protests.
Ottawa Police Chief Eric Stubbs is clarifying the actions of the Ottawa Police Service's response to last week's 'Freedom Convoy' anniversary protests.
Stubbs told CTV News Ottawa before Monday's Police Services Board meeting that accusations police hold a double standard in policing convoy protests differently than pro-Palestinian protests, "couldn't be further from the truth" and that officers are expected to uphold neutrality in their response, no matter the political views of protesters.
The comments come after confusion over the response of the Ottawa Police and Ottawa Bylaw Services, after the city said bylaw officers were asked not to hand out tickets to convoy protesters due to safety issues during last weekend's anniversary rally.
Residents and some city councillors and MPPs raised the perception of a double standard for policing demonstrations in Ottawa, noting that other protests, including pro-Palestinian protests and a trans-rights rally, were given $490 tickets for using megaphones.
Ottawa Police clarified the following day that its officers had given out 'multiple violations, to the convoy protesters that day, creating confusion over the disconnect between the two enforcement agencies.
Stubbs tells CTV News that police operations asked bylaw to stand down when certain protesters were letting off illegal fireworks at a vacant parking lot in Centretown later in the evening of Feb. 17, after the convoy rally had ended. When police arrived, Stubbs says the individuals were 'highly agitated' and tensions rose further when bylaw officers arrived at the scene.
"The insinuation or the comment that we instructed bylaw not to write any tickets during the Family Day weekend is not accurate," Stubbs said. "It was not us saying, 'you shall not give out tickets,' nothing close to that – it was simply a tactical decisions to try to deescalate that particular situation."
