Ottawa's interim police chief is defending the police response to a costume code protest outdoors a French Catholic secondary college on Friday, saying officers "responded appropriately with the intention of sustaining public security."
Interim Chief Steve Bell outlined the police response to the protest at École secondaire catholique Béatrice-Desloges in a memo to members of the Ottawa Police Companies Board on Sunday morning.
Roughly 400 college students had been protesting a costume code "blitz" by senior workers on Thursday, when the temperature hit 30 C. Video circulating on social media of 1 particular person being arrested prompted questions from elected officers and the general public about why police responded to the protest.
Ottawa Police Companies Board member and Coun. Jeff Leiper mentioned he had spoken with police to "specific my disagreement with bodily taking management of the youth even when trespassing."
"I do not instantly see the necessity to have escalated the state of affairs.”
Ottawa Centre MP Yasir Naqvi mentioned the police actions "severely impacts" the general public's belief in police.
"The Ottawa Police Companies Board must ask some necessary questions, and present transparency," Naqvi mentioned on Twitter.
In a memo to board members, Bell says calls from the varsity and a member of the general public "prompted a authentic police response" to the protest outdoors the varsity.
At 11:30 a.m., the Ottawa Police Communications Centre obtained a name from college workers a few protest on the college.
"The workers member described a harmful state of affairs with college students along side the street and vehicles shifting previous them at a excessive fee of velocity," Bell mentioned. "There have been issues from the varsity workers concerning the security of the scholars and officers had been requested to come back to the scene for visitors administration. This name prompted a police response."
Bell mentioned a member of the general public referred to as at 11:40 a.m. expressing concern there have been college students on the road, and a "third and closing name" was obtained by way of 911 from college workers asking for extra police to attend.
"The caller believed that folks's security was in danger," mentioned Bell.
In a letter to folks on Saturday, Marc Bertrand, Director of Schooling for the Conseil des écoles catholiques du Centre-Est, mentioned police arrived on scene to "guarantee the security of scholars" after a variety of college students had been on the street throughout the protest.
The interim police chief says "a number of officers" had been on scene to handle visitors and hold college students off the roadway, including "the protest was stored peaceable and Béatrice-Desloges college students had been stored on college property."
"Officers tried on a number of events to deescalate and calm the state of affairs, nevertheless, in some instances they had been unsuccessful," Bell mentioned.
"The challenges the officers confronted had been from youths who didn't attend the varsity and who had been repeatedly crossing the roadway to the protest and agitating the gang. Two teenage males particularly had been strolling backwards and forwards throughout the street. These two had been repeatedly requested to cease crossing the roadway and obstructing visitors."
Bell says at one level, a lot of college students flooded the roadway following one of many two youths throughout the street, and officers "feared that this might escalate to harm."
"An officer was approached by a college workers member who suggested the 2 youths weren't college students on the college and weren't allowed on the property," Bell wrote.
"The 2 youths had been suggested by the officer at the least 5 occasions they had been to not attend the property and needed to stay off the roadway on the other facet of the street."
One of many youths was arrested on the scene and later launched. Police informed CTV Information Ottawa on Friday the youth, not a scholar on the college, was arrested for inflicting a disturbance and trespassing. Bell mentioned a guardian of the youth was contacted by officers and notified of his arrest and unconditional launch.
No tickets or expenses had been issued throughout the protest, in accordance with police.
Bell tells the Ottawa Police Companies Board he perceive the neighborhood's concern concerning the strategy taken by college officers and the police response.
"The police response to a security problem and the actions of faculty workers are separate," Bell mentioned, including officers performed no position or half within the college costume code inspections.
"The calls from the varsity and a member of the general public prompted a authentic police response. Officers are required to reply to these kind of calls the place the security of youths, or different members of the general public, is in danger."
Bell provides as soon as on scene, officers took "applicable actions" to maintain folks protected, blocking roads and making an attempt to maintain college students and different youths off the roadway.
"Our evaluate of the decision finds that our members within the Communications Centre and the patrol officers on the street responded appropriately with the intention of sustaining public security."
The Ottawa Police Companies doesn't have a college useful resource officer at Béatrice-Desloges.
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