A special meeting of the Ottawa Police Service Council approved a request for the appointment of 200 RCMP officers and the reappointment of another 631. The reappointed officers were given special police status for the first time during the “Freedom Accord” protests that took place in Ottawa during most of February. Ottawa police prepare for an event, the Rolling Thunder, that could see protesters flooding downtown Ottawa between April 29 and 30. Ottawa police said protesters would arrive between Friday and Saturday.
Read more: Ottawa police prepare for new demonstration, curfew in downtown
The story goes on under the ad The chairman of the Ottawa Police Service Council, Coun. Eli El-Chantiry said the protest would be a “bicycle ride”. Trending Stories
“Canada’s most wanted man” arrested just hours after launching new Bolo campaign The threat of World War III “serious, real”, says Russia amid NATO support for Ukraine
The appointment of RCMP officers does not guarantee that they will be used during the protest, but it does give the police flexibility if the situation changes. “This is one of the new and improved ways we are looking at approaching these demonstrations,” caretaker Steve Bell told board members on Wednesday. To prepare for the event, Ottawa police will ban vehicles from downtown and increase the number of police patrolling over the weekend.
Read more: Police promise strong presence, arrests for hatred as bicycle motorcade goes down in Ottawa
RCMP officers must be assigned to a special constituency in order to perform police duties in Ottawa, which is under the jurisdiction of the Ottawa Police Department. “These appointments ensure that the respective employees can perform the full range of tasks assigned to them,” explains a report to the board. The board members also agreed to delegate power to the chairman and vice-chairman to approve new RCMP executives without convening a full meeting if the need arises over the weekend. “The appointment of a special constable to these RCMP staff and the extension of the existing special constituency from the illegal protest in February will allow them to take on the full range of their duties,” the report added. The story goes on under the ad The appointments will be valid until July 2022. © 2022 Global News, part of Corus Entertainment Inc.
