© Carlos Osorio / Archyde.com
Police break the window of a protester’s car to tow it away and clear a street in Ottawa, Canada’s capital. February 20, 2022.
After an operation to clear the center of the Canadian capital, law enforcement reported a total of 191 detainees, they also towed 57 vehicles on Sunday, mostly trucks related to the protests.
This Sunday, public workers cleaned downtown Ottawa and the police broke the windows of cars involved in the anti-vaccine protests that have been shaking Canada for weeks, to tow them away.
The Police finally said on February 20 that they had arrested a total of 191 people in the protests, of which 103 have been accused of different charges, the majority of which consist of “revolt and obstruction.”
At the moment, 89 of the detainees have been released under conditions that include the prohibition of approaching certain areas, while the rest are already unconditionally released, according to the authorities.
In addition, 57 vehicles were towed away, mostly trucks used in an attempt to blockade the Canadian capital by protesters.
Media outlets highlighted a “final push” by authorities to cleanse Ottawa of the hotbeds of protests that prompted Prime Minister Justin Trudeau to invoke rarely used emergency powers to quell them.
The protests initially attempted to end cross-border vaccination mandates once morest Covid-19, which required vaccination or a negative test for truckers entering the country from the United States, but discontent evolved into a called once morest the Trudeau government.
Police will continue investigations once morest protesters
The interim chief of the capital Police, Seteve Bell, stressed that the protesters who were filmed by the authorities must be held accountable before the Justice.
“If you are involved in this protest, we will actively seek to identify and track you for financial penalties and criminal charges. This investigation will continue for months to come,” the police high command said.
Ongoing investigation into police actions
On Saturday, February 19, police used stun grenades and pepper spray once morest protesters protesting outside the Parliament building.
A Special Investigation Unit reported that it is studying the actions of the Police in two incidents that occurred this weekend. In one of the cases, a 49-year-old woman claimed to be seriously injured in an interaction with a Toronto officer on horseback, while the other incident involves the use of riot control weapons once morest a crowd.
The Ottawa police confirmed that they had used “medium-range impact weapons” to “stop the violent actions” of armed protesters and the authority also acknowledged the use of pepper spray to disperse the protests.
Law enforcement officers acted under the Emergencies Law, which grants the government extraordinary powers.
With Archyde.com and EFE