Police official admits mistakes in planning for ‘Freedom Convoy’ protests
Posted October 20, 2022 5:33 am.
Last Updated October 20, 2022 1:07 pm.
The officer in charge of planning with the Ottawa Police Service admitted Thursday they made mistakes in preparing for the “Freedom Convoy” protests on Parliament Hill.
Acting deputy Ottawa police chief Patricia Ferguson, who led the city’s law enforcement operation during the demonstration, said they erred in their planning when they assumed this would be a short protest, even though there were a few levels of warning – including from the Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) – that this would be a prolonged event.
Documents filed with the inquiry show that police intelligence reports warned the protesters were prepared to stay for a “long time” after their arrival in the capital Jan. 28.
Ferguson says they also had information suggesting it would just be a couple of days.
“When we addressed the community preparing them for this, we said a prolonged event and for us the experience in that was over the three days of the weekend,” explained Ferguson at the public inquiry into the Liberal government’s use of the Emergencies Act. “So, did we err in our assessment of this? Clearly we did.”
Ferguson said they used a boiler plate plan in order to deal with the convoy and after that first weekend, when the protesters didn’t leave, they realized that they needed to pivot. However, days later, on February 4th, there was no new strategy.
The other problem Ferguson highlighted was that staff were already exhausted after working the previous week and through the weekend.
“I would describe us as being on our knees and having run a marathon for the last two and a half years, and it felt like they’d moved the finish line 100 yards … and given us 200 pounds to carry to get to the end,” she said.
“Staffing was, I would say, our number 1 Achilles heel in all of this.”
Ferguson also addressed allegations she was somehow involved in an insurrection from within the police force to undermine Chief Sloly. She describes a meeting where she was accused of unethical behaviour by a colleague after she voiced her disagreement with the direction of the chief. Ferguson says things got emotional but afterwards the chief said he wanted to keep her in the role, but sent her home for rest, not because of any bad behaviour.
Related:
Big Story podcast: Everything you need to know about the convoy inquiry
Meanwhile, three groups with standing in the inquiry say they have asked the commission to call Ontario Premier Doug Ford and Solicitor General Sylvia Jones to testify. In a statement, the Canadian Civil Liberties Association says after testimony from city officials about the action or inaction of the province it’s important Canadians hear from them.
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association and two other groups with standing at the public inquiry into the Emergencies Act have requested that the commission call Ontario Premier @fordnation and Solicitor General @SylviaJonesMPP to testify #cdnpoli pic.twitter.com/O1XHLjO6eL
— Cormac Mac Sweeney (@cmaconthehill) October 20, 2022
OPP Supt. Craig Abrams is also slated to appear on Thursday. He is expected to provide a candid view of policing operations during the protests, and some insight into how the different police forces were interacting with one another.
The federal Liberals declared an emergency under the act on Feb. 14, granting police extraordinary temporary powers in an attempt to clear the protesters occupying downtown streets outside Parliament Hill.
