VPD officers cleared of wrongdoing in Ottawa convoy response
Posted June 21, 2022 10:02 am.
Last Updated June 21, 2022 10:03 am.
Two Vancouver Police officers have been cleared of any wrongdoing in connection with the use of “less-lethal firearms” against two protesters in Ottawa this February.
The Special Investigations Unit — a civilian agency in Ontario responsible for investigating circumstances involving police officers that have resulted in death or injury — says its director “has found no reasonable grounds to believe” that the two VPD officers “committed a criminal offence” in connection with the incident on Feb. 19.
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The SIU says VPD officers were in Ottawa to help control crowds that had gathered for the so-called Freedom Convoy, which transpired in opposition to COVID-19 mandates.
“Specifically, in this incident, the officers involved were part of an operation to control the crowd on Bank Street. Shots were fired at a 36-year-old man and a 41-year-old man. No serious injuries were reported,” the SIU writes in reference to this case.
The weeks-long protest in Ottawa cost the city millions of dollars.
The convoy of hundreds of vehicles travelled to the nation’s capital in January, arriving in Ottawa at the end of that month. The protest would remain in the city for more than three weeks, bringing the downtown core to a halt.
In February, the House of Commons voted to approve the use of the Emergencies Act to deal with the convoy protest. The emergency measures gave law enforcement the tools they needed to successfully clear the demonstration, the prime minister said at the time.
The Emergencies Act was invoked on Feb. 14 for the first time since it became law in 1988.
Police agencies, including the VPD, from across the country sent officers to Ottawa to help with efforts to clear the city out.
Several key organizers of the “Freedom Convoy 2022” protests in Ottawa were arrested and charged.
