St. Thomas police officers are among those moving in on demonstrators who have been occupying downtown Ottawa for the past three weeks.
The St. Thomas Police Service confirmed late Thursday an unspecified number of its officers would be sent to the capital to “assist in the coordinated response that will be necessary to support public safety on the streets of Ottawa.”
The officers deployed to assist in the removal of anti-pandemic restriction protesters will take direction from the Integrated Command Centre set up by the Ottawa Police Service, OPP and the RCMP. No details about the types of operational duties St. Thomas officers sent to Ottawa will be assigned were released.
“Our organization has answered this request for assistance with the same dedication that would be reciprocated by other police services should a similar public safety challenge arise in our jurisdiction,” St. Thomas police said in a statement. They have reassured public safety back home won’t be affected by the deployment of officers to Ottawa.
The Ottawa Police Service issued notices earlier this week to members of the so-called “Freedom Convoy” who have been blocking streets warning that they could face “severe penalties” if they do not clear out of the area.
On Thursday, two of the protest organizers were arrested. Chris Barber, 46, of Swift Current, Saskatchewan is charged with counselling to commit mischief, counselling to disobey a court order, and counselling to obstruct police. Tamara Lich, 49, has been charged with counselling to commit mischief.
Both Barber and Lich are scheduled to appear in court in relation to the charges on Friday.
Video was also posted to social media that showed the St. Thomas man charged with throwing gravel at Prime Minister Justin Trudeau last summer being arrested in Ottawa. Shane Marshall, a former riding association president for the People’s Party Of Canada, is seen in the roughly minute long video being walked toward an SUV by a group of police officers. Marshall was charged last September with assaulting Trudeau with a blunt object in relation to the gravel throwing incident outside of the London Brewing Co-op. He is scheduled to return to court on that matter on March 23.
By noon on Friday, Ottawa police confirmed another 15 protesters had been arrested and four vehicles towed as the effort to clear the occupation continued.
“Protestors have put children between police operations and the unlawful protest site. The children will be brought to a place of safety,” Ottawa police tweeted.
One hundred checkpoints have been set-up around the downtown and several Highway 417 off ramps to Ottawa’s core are closed. The House of Commons scheduled sitting Friday was cancelled due to the ongoing police operation outside of Parliament.
