Windsor police considering creating a new unit to deal with large protests: internal document
CBC
The Windsor Police Service (WPS) examined the idea of creating a Public Order Unit to help control large crowds of people in the wake of the Ambassador Bridge blockade, according to a debriefing document submitted to the Emergencies Act Inquiry in Ottawa.
It also sheds light on what Windsor police believes it was lacking during the blockade earlier this year and what it could do to improve its response if there was another large protest.
The Ambassador Bridge blockade began on February 7 as a protest against vaccination mandates. People and vehicles blocked traffic from crossing the U.S.-Canada border holding up what some say is billions of dollars in trade.
The Windsor protest is playing a role in the public hearings that have been taking place in Ottawa that are examining the federal government's first ever use of the emergencies act to deal with protests in Ottawa and protests at other border crossings.
However, the ambassador bridge protest was disbursed by police on February 13, a day before Ottawa invoked the act to declare a public order emergency.
In the document, the WPS says its patrol was completely outnumbered and it was evident the that the crowd wanted a confrontation. One communication included in the document included a report of truck drivers "getting out of their trucks and walking [North bound] with tire irons in their hands."
"Plans were put in place to have additional police personnel from other services to attend," it read.
Some of the issues the report pointed out were:
One of the questions the debrief asks is whether WPS should develop a Public Order Unit or POU.
POUs are units that are responsible for managing large crowds of people
Right now Windsor police relies on OPP or other municipal police services to provide POUs.
The cost to start up such a unit would be $300,000 according to a presentation given to senior administration a couple of months after the blockade.
The report points out funding for training and equipment recently made available through the provincial government that includes an investment of $96 million dollars that would support "province-wide responses during unlawful demonstrations and illegal blockades that impede international borders and airports."
The debrief lays out both successes and areas where improvements are needed based on what unfolded at the protest.
Run 3 Space | Play Space Running Game
Traffic Jam 3D | Online Racing Game
Duck Hunt | Play Old Classic Game
Outside a hockey arena in the Copper Cliff neighbourhood of Sudbury, Ont., there's a group of three interconnected trailers with the Statistics Canada logo blazoned at the top.
In Victoria Joumaa's Halifax home, there are bedrooms furnished with single beds — soccer balls on the nightstands in one room, a pink owl clock and a plush panda toy in the other — with clothing in both closets, all for children who do not live there.
If you stand in the trees and brush between Trout Creek and Kurtis Carter and Kassandra Chudiak's home in Sussex, you can hear water rushing by.
Montreal and provincial police have made several arrests Thursday morning targeting the Rizzuto family in the Montreal area, Radio-Canada is reporting.
Terry Romanski says he knew by the May long weekend that something bad had happened to his son.
As some northern Saskatchewan residents begin returning to their communities, Matthew Maurer says local businesses are running low emotionally and financially, with no support from the provincial government.
Three years after approving an anti-racism strategy, Edmonton city council has decided on the parameters for an independent body to oversee efforts within the community.
A Surrey, B.C., man says two recent shootings at his businesses are connected to ongoing extortion attempts targeting the South Asian community.
The only Friday the 13th of the year is coming up this week and for Port Dover, Ont., that means the return of the famous biker rally.
Stellantis workers at the Windsor, Ont., assembly plant are returning to two full shifts a week earlier than previously expected.
As Alberta faces the prospect of another summer plagued by wildfire smoke, experts are urging people to monitor conditions and take steps to protect their long-term health.
Before Justin Gill began working at NorWest Community Health Centres (NWCHC), he thought fentanyl was the most toxic substance impacting drug users in Thunder Bay, Ont.