Thread by @GlobalGraeme

This is underway. Chief Dan Kinsella says there have been a “a number of complaints” regarding the “illegal” encampments over the past few weeks.

https://twitter.com/globalhalifax/status/1428422353105690626

Kinsella says “protesters behaviours and actions creates unsafe” circumstances. He says some of the protesters were organized and some came with sensory irritants

While I was there in the morning, I did not see a single protester carrying a sensory irritant

Kinsella asked about pepper spray use and if it’s general procedure. He says a number of steps occur, including conversation and consultation, but doesn’t answer an the decision to use pepper spray

Supt. Matthews steps up and answers the questions. He says the use of sensory irritant is “currently being investigated.”

Kinsella asked by @CBCBlairRhodes about officers without name badges and removing name badges. He says they’re reviewing the situation in its entirety and asking for those attending to reach out if they have any information

@CBCBlairRhodes asks about the officer with a thin blue patch. Kinsella says he’s aware of the situation and, again, is asking the public to come forward with any information that they have

.@zwoodford asks about the 10 year old girl who was pepper sprayed. Kinsella again says the protesters came “prepared, organized and armed” but doesn’t answer why the girl was pepper sprayed.

Kinsella says a “number of his officers were assaulted and they acted appropriately.”

Kinsella says he is only aware of the one reporter who was threatened to be arrested for reporting on the protest. There were four, that I’m aware of, including myself.

@HeidiPCTV asks Kinsella why officers don’t just walk away. Kinsella says officers were already assaulted and the demeanour of the crowd changed and that “it needed to be done.”

Kinsella says he’s unable to provide details on the deescalation techniques that were used, but is going over how they typically deescalate similar protests

@emcsheff asks whether there will be an investigation into the officer that pepper sprayed the 10-year-old. He highlights how officers were assaulted and pelted with projectiles and says based on that situation they were in they “responded to the best of their abilities.”

Kinsella keeps saying protesters “came with an agenda, they came armed, they came organized.” I can only speak to what I saw in the morning, but that simply didn’t happen.

These protesters were not armed.

This protester was armed, with water, to give to this individual who was arrested.

These ones were armed with cellphones, recording everything happening

Another angle of the “armed” protesters

They’re literally just sitting down

Not armed

For context, these were the first protesters to show up. This was the very first time police started pushing them back. None of them are armed, and if you ask me, things seem pretty disorganized. (There is, however, one protester armed with a whistle)

Should also mention I was reporting during the blockade at the NS/NB border in June. At no point were protesters met with violence. Granted, different circumstances, but it was resolved through discourse