Ottawa police were armed with tazers to control protesters at Thursday's "Save the Children convoy" event on Parliament Hill.
This convoy to Parliament had no trucks or horns but did have electric shocks | Toronto Sun | Joe Warmington:
October 5, 2023 - "Another convoy protest to Parliament Hill and another strong use-of-force response by Ottawa Police. This time it was a 'Save the Children' event in protest of gender ideology in schools. This time there were no trucks, honking horns, police horses or Emergencies Act declaration. But there was what witnesses described as a 'Taser' — technically referred to as a Conducted Energy Weapon (CEW) — not used to subdue just one person under arrest, but also pointed at the crowd ... late in the afternoon on Oct. 4, 2023....
"This was a man described as a 54-year-old man, in shorts and a T-shirt, among a couple of dozen protesters. He was arrested and taken to the ground being struck with the CEW wire and then, while face down on the road, the device was put to his back, and you can hear the electrical charge coming from the hand-held device that has the appearance of a gun. Soon after, the officer lifted the CEW, trained on those nearby, and pointed it at horrified witnesses – one of whom was the man’s wife.
"'Back up, back up,' you can hear the angered officer saying as he pointed the use-of-force option from one person to another. It had a frantic, surreal and out-of-control situation feel to it just below the Prime Minister’s Office on Wellington Street – 19-months removed from the Freedom Convoy protest on this same spot.
"There is video showing the officer’s knee on the man’s side and back while administering the CEW as they were handcuffing him. A second officer at one point put his hands on his neck. 'He can’t breathe!' you can hear the man’s wife screaming. 'He had a heart attack twice. Don’t do that.'
"Social media posts later indicated he was back home and, despite showing marks the CEW allegedly left on his skin, he did not seem to be severely hurt — even though while on the escort to the car the officer and man slipped and fell on what appeared to be wet pavement. Another officer was seen to take out his CEW device while encouraging people to retreat. A second person, who does not appear to have been involved in the slipping incident, is seen to have been handcuffed....
"It is not clear from the video what precipitated the original arrest, or the others which earlier included an older female. But ... no one was held in custody. On X (formerly Twitter), Ottawa Police posted they 'were on scene in the area of Parliament Hill to ensure public safety was maintained during a demonstration' and 'some protesters were using large speakers and loud hailers in contravention of bylaws.' Ottawa Police said that 'after various interactions with police, three people were arrested for obstruction and later released on conditions'....
"Ottawa Police have yet to comment further. It is important to hear their perspective. There is nothing easy about being a police officer in general and especially in a situation like that. It’s also appropriate for police to review responses to ensure something can be learned. The best strategy is always de-escalation, and the best outcome is no one harmed....
"In Ottawa during the [Freedom Convoy], Rebel News reporter Alexa Lavoie was struck with a cannister from a crowd-controlling tear–gas gun and 4-foot-10, 78-year-old great-grandfather and retired school custodian Gerry Charlebois was physically arrested following an incident where an officer felt he had violated Ottawa’s no-honking bylaw. Now 80, Charlebois, who had his charges recently withdrawn by the Crown, was not protesting but offering support for a trucker.
"But protesting is a Charter right. Demonstrators are taxpayers and human beings just as vital to the country as elected officials or authority figures. With Canadians finding themselves shot, taken down violently or hit with an electrical charge, sometimes government needs to be reminded of that."
UPDATE: The Toronto Sun has posted a video of the incident on their YouTube channel. YouTube has left it up, but it cannot be embedded.
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