Police forces in Canada are coming under scrutiny for their excessive violence with peaceful Freedom Convoy protesters in Ottawa, as leaked text messages reveal a group of officers applauded the moment a grandmother was trampled by a police horse and joked about being ‘kinder, gentler and handing out free hugs and unicorn stickers’ to the demonstrators
Police forces in Canada are coming under scrutiny for their excessive violence with peaceful Freedom Convoy protesters in Ottawa, as leaked text messages reveal a group of officers applauded the moment a grandmother was trampled by a police horse and joked about being ‘kinder, gentler and handing out free hugs and unicorn stickers’ to the demonstrators.
The text messages, which were leaked by and whose authenticity has not yet been verified, appear to show several officers delighting in the brutality via a Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) group chat.
The crackdown on the self-styled Freedom Convoy began Friday morning, when hundreds of police descended into the protest zone in Ottawa and began arresting demonstrators.At least 196 people had been arrested as of Monday and 115 vehicles had been towed, police said, while other trucks and vehicles left the protest zone after being warned starting Friday. Heavily-armed riot cops used pepper spray, while mounted police and armored vehicles were also brought in to help begin clearing the downtown area, which had been paralyzed by a three-week blockade over the truckers’ Covid jab protest.
Several clips have shown peaceful protesters being beaten into submission, including a truck driver who claims he was attacked after having given himself up to authorities.Other footage shows a woman, who appeared to be using a mobility scooter, being trampled by mounted police in Ottawa, Ontario, on Friday.
One of the text messages in the exchange appears to show officers applauding the incident involving the woman.
‘Just watched the horse video – that is awesome,’ the chat member allegedly wrote.
‘We should practice that manoeuvre.’
Meanwhile, one group participant wrote: ‘Time for the protesters to hear our jackboots on the ground,’ while another said: ‘Don’t kick all of them out until next weeks group gets our turn.’
Another joked the officers could not act harshly because they were a ‘kinder, gentler RCMP,’ to which someone replied: ‘Okay, we can give out free hugs and unicorn stickers.’
Moments before the unidentified woman was trampled, she told another Freedom Convoy participant – who was recording the protests – that she was rallying to ensure a better future for her grandchildren.
‘Our grandchildren. This is what we’re doing it for.So they all can have peace and love and happiness,’ she is heard saying on video, before chanting: ‘Peace, love, happiness. Peace, love, happiness.’
It comes as the province’s Special Investigations Unit (SIU) announced it was investigating an incident in which a 49-year-old woman was ‘seriously injured’ in an interaction with a police horse.
The incident also followed an incident two weeks ago in which a 4foot-10inch great grandfather was cuffed and shoved to his knees for honking his car horn in support of the Freedom Convoy.
The RCMP said it plans to launch an inquiry into the text chats.But the RCMP did not confirm the authenticity of the messages in its Tuesday morning response to DailyMail.com, nor did the organization answer an inquiry about disciplinary consequences for the officers involved.
The Freedom Convoy demonstrations initially focused on Canada’s vaccine requirement for truckers entering the country, but morphed into a wider protest against the country’s highly restrictive Covid precautions and Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s faux-liberal government.
Ottawa protesters are largely gone from the Parliament Hill area Tuesday after having been chased away by officers sporting riot gear in what was the biggest police operation in Canada’s history.
Moments after a grandmother was seen protesting peacefully in Ottawa in Friday, a mounted officer gallops through the crowd and rushes a line of protesters
The officer trampled the woman, who was then knocked to the floor by the horse and is subsequently trampled
Police forces in Canada are coming under scrutiny for their excessive violence with peaceful Freedom Convoy protesters in Ottawa, as leaked text messages show a group of law enforcement officers allegedly celebrating the moment a grandmother was trampled by mounted police
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The unidentified woman, pictured, told another Freedom Convoy participant – who was recording the protests – that she was rallying to ensure a better future for her grandchildren
Police made 196 arrests, with 110 facing a variety of charges.Law enforcement also said 115 vehicles connected to the protest have been towed.
Tamara Lich, one of the leading organizers behind protests, was denied bail on Tuesday after she was arrested last Thursday and charged with counseling to commit mischief and promised during a bail hearing on Saturday to give up her advocacy of the protest and return to Alberta.
The RCMP gave DailyMail.com a statement it released on Sunday in response to the video of the woman being trampled and the accompanying texts, saying it was ‘aware of the material circulating on social media pertaining to a chat group that includes some of its members’ and confirmed that it is ‘looking into the matter.’
‘This material is not representative of those who have committed themselves to serving Canadians with integrity and professionalism,’ the statement read, claiming the RCMP had ‘put in place measures to ensure the continued integrity of police operations as well as the safety of our members.’
It also reiterated that police officers have a ‘responsibility to hold themselves to the highest professional standards and are subject to the Code of Conduct of the RCMP at all times.’
The RCMP has not yet confirmed the authenticity of the messages, nor has it given details of any repercussions for the officers allegedly involved.
An SIU spokesperson told DailyMail.com in a statement Tuesday morning that the organization is aware of the alleged messages but unable to verify the authenticity.
The spokesperson noted the SIU does not have jurisdiction to investigate RCMP officers and said: ‘The SIU conducts investigations of the circumstances around serious injuries, allegations of sexual assault, firearm discharges, and deaths in cases involving officials.’
Parliament Hill, the area where the convoy protests were taking place, has since been cleared of demonstrators after at least 196 people were arrested, including the protest organizers – Tamara Lich and Pat King.
Ontario Court Justice Julie Bourgeois denied Lich bail on Tuesday, saying she believed there was a substantial likelihood she would reoffend if released.
A separate bail hearing is scheduled Tuesday for fellow protest organizer Pat King.
King was arrested on Friday and faces charges of mischief, counseling to commit mischief, counselling to commit the offense of disobeying a court order and counseling to obstruct police.
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The text messages, which were leaked by Rebel News and whose authenticity has not yet been Buy Verified AdvCash Account – VerifiedAccount.Xyz, appear to show several officers delighting in the brutality via a RCMP group chat
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