Long awaited report on chaotic clash at Halifax tent encampment released

A law firm released its long awaited review into the chaotic clash between protestors and police at a Halifax tent encampment on Friday.

A law firm released its long awaited review into the chaotic clash between protestors and police at a Halifax tent encampment on Friday.

The 116-page report examined the tent encampment evictions on Aug. 18, 2021, in Halifax offered 37 recommendations for the Halifax Board of Police Commissioners, Halifax Regional Police (HRP), and Halifax Regional Municipality (HRM).

The report, onducted by Toronto based law firm Cooper, Sandler, Shime & Schwartzentruber, was led by criminal defense lawyers Jonathan Shime and Wayne Cunningham, and was critical of several decisions by police and HRM leadership.

The report suggests that by the time police and Halifax city staff arrived at the Old Memorial Library that morning, they had already successfully cleared three different encampments across the city with relative ease.

However, "a last minute decision" to clear the encampment on Spring Garden Road was one of several poor choices made that day, according to the independent report.

The report reveals several police officers and HRM staff suggested delaying the eviction, given the time. It was 8:30 a.m. and the city was already “waking up.” Traffic and activity around the area would make it challenging to clear the encampment.

But the report says senior officers ignored those concerns and pushed ahead with the eviction plan, a decision that proved disastrous.