Convoy of truckers in Ottawa: several criminal investigations underway
Several criminal investigations have been opened by the Ottawa Police Service (OPS) in connection with incidents that allegedly took place. products on the sidelines of the rally which since yesterday has brought together thousands of demonstrators opposed to sanitary measures in the federal capital.
In an update posted on Twitter, the SPO reports “gestures of desecration of the memorial War Memorials and the Terry Fox Statue, threatening/illegal/intimidating behavior toward police/city employees and others, and damage to a city vehicle.”
“National monuments will be protected and must be respected by all,” it also says in an update on the SPO website.
Also according to the police, barricades were also installed to block vehicle access to the passage leading to the war monument while large crowds remained in the city center all night .
“Officers encountered several challenges from protesters, including intermittent street blockages by trucks, which officers had to scramble to clear. These high-risk situations were defused and resolved without arrests,” the SPO website also reads.
As part of their downtown patrols, SPO officers would work on to keep emergency access routes clear, while dealing with any “threatening and high-risk” behavior.
The SPO also recommends that the population do not go or circulate in the city center.
Insults
At the Refuge les Bergers de l’Espoir, a resource that serves meals to homeless people, it is reported that some individuals would have insulted the staff of the organization in the early evening of Saturday.
“Protesters came to our soup kitchen around 4-5pm asking for meals. We explained that we only had a certain number of meals. It’s hard for us to serve meals on a regular day. We only had one volunteer. Most people were respectful, but there were others who became aggressive. They insulted the staff,” says the organization's senior communications director, Caroline Cox, says she is unable to confirm
She also indicates that a user of the shelter's services would have was assaulted by a protester during the night from Saturday to Sunday.
