
Anger, frustration over how Edmonton police handled counter-protest and convoy noise: councillor
Global News
An Edmonton councillor is frustrated with police following its handling of a counter-protest Saturday and its lack of enforcement towards people making noise in the convoy.
Several Edmontonians are not happy over the level of enforcement by police in Saturday’s trucker convoy.
While many people are disappointed in the noise that came about amid an injunction to stop it, how police handled a counter-protest pushed some people to their tipping point.
Bradley Lafortune is one of more than a dozen people who blocked a convoy of truckers trying to access downtown Edmonton Saturday.
But instead of backlash from people in the convoy, it was the response from police that’s grabbing attention and concern — including from Coun. Michael Janz.
“They brought down two paddy wagons and over 20 officers with billy clubs to crack down on a small group of peaceful parents with signs saying, ‘Just let our children sleep,'” Ward Papastew Coun. Michael Janz said.
“When I saw that last unit deployed with batons and that they were facing off to us, I felt a little bit escalated. I felt a little bit scared,” Lafortune said.
Lafortune said the group was confronted by police and threatened with fines if people did not leave and unblock the road, so they moved.
Janz said his office is getting numerous complaints about how the incident was handled.