Tamara Lich makes her way back to the courthouse following a brief break on the first day of the trial for "Freedom Convoy" organizers Lich and Chris Barber, Tuesday, September 5, 2023 in Ottawa. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Adrian Wyld
OTTAWA – The longer the “Freedom Convoy” protesters blockaded Ottawa streets in protest against COVID-19 public health restrictions last year, the more volatile the relationship between police and protesters became, an Ottawa police officer testified Wednesday.
Insp. Russell Lucas was called as a Crown witness in the criminal trial of key protest organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber to testify about his role in co-ordinating the police response to the convoy.
Lich and Barber are co-accused of mischief, counselling others to commit mischief, obstructing police and intimidation for their role in the three-week demonstration.
Thousands of people and big-rig trucks gridlocked Ottawa for three weeks to protest COVID-19 public health measures and the federal Liberal government, which eventually invoked the Emergencies Act.
Lucas told the court that protesters were initially co-operative as police attempted to direct traffic as the vehicles began arriving.
But as more days passed, he said police were more likely to be swarmed by the demonstrators when police tried to enforce the law.
He recalled one example where police responded to protesters who were setting off fireworks near the National War Memorial. Lucas said he watched the situation unfold on traffic cameras and listened over the radio, and felt he had to send in more officers to ensure the safety of those already there.
Lucas told the court the Ottawa Police had initially put a plan together that would accommodate roughly 2,000 vehicles on Wellington Road in front of Parliament and along several parkways.
Instead, more than 5,000 trucks arrived on the first weekend of the protest in late January, Lucas told the court.
“Obviously, the event exceeded our expectations,” said Lucas, who served as an incident commander during the protest.
Roughly two-thirds of protesters left after the first weekend, he said, but the problem for police was that the footprint of the protest remained the same.
Big rig trucks blocked the street in front of Parliament Hill and spilled onto other streets around downtown, including residential roads.
At that time, police resources were stretched very thin, Lucas said.
Teams of officers had tried to negotiate with protesters to clear traffic lanes and shrink the footprint by moving trucks toward Parliament Hill, “but that never happened,” he said.
He said instructions came down from senior command “not to give the protesters an inch,” which made the task of negotiating much harder for officers on the ground.
“Because they didn’t have any negotiating power,” Justice Heather Perkins-McVey concluded during Lucas’ testimony.
The Crown’s case rests on its assertion that Lich and Barber orchestrated the blockades on Ottawa roads and that they encouraged their supporters to remain in the city after police ordered them to clear the streets.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Sept. 6, 2023.
