OPP reviewing interaction between officer, protesters outside Trudeau event
The Ontario Provincial Police has launched a re‐ view after one of its offi‐ cers was recorded vocally supporting - and possibly helping - protesters outside an event with Prime Minis‐ ter Justin Trudeau earlier this week.
In a video posted online, the officer is seen interacting with protesters in Alliston, Ont., about an hour and 45 minutes north of Toronto. Trudeau, members of his cabinet and government offi‐ cials were visiting the region at the time for a multi-billion dollar electric vehicle invest‐ ment announcement.
The now widely seen footage shows one of the protesters asking which en‐ trance the prime minister is using.
The officer points offscreen and says, "He came in this way."
'I'm on board with you guys,' officer says
He then asks the protester recording to do him a favour.
"I'm on board with you guys," the officer says. "But just no profanity."
WATCH: OPP officer says he's 'on board' with pro‐ testers at Trudeau event
The officer then says he took issue with another protester in the group calling Deputy Prime Minister Chrys‐ tia Freeland a sexist slur and threatening to beat up an OPP officer.
"There's 6,000 of us em‐ ployed on the OPP. I'm pretty sure not all 6,000 voted for Trudeau," says the officer.
The protester then men‐ tions what he calls the "catchand-release" bail system - a term used by critics of the justice system to describe of‐ fenders being released into the community who then reoffend.
"Officers getting shot for guys that are already out on violent crimes," says the protester, likely referring to the 2022 death of OPP officer Greg Pierzchala. One of his alleged killers was out on bail and under a lifetime ban on owning a firearm.
In response, the officer calls it "ridiculous."
In a statement posted on‐ line, the OPP said it's re‐ viewing the matter and tak‐ ing it seriously.
"This video has raised concerns about professional‐ ism and depicts opinions that are not in line with the OPP's values," says the statement.
"The OPP also recognizes the rights of the general pub‐ lic, local residents and
elected officials to a safe en‐ vironment."
CBC reached out to the union representing OPP members for comment and has tried to contact the of‐ ficer in the video.
WATCH | OPP investigat‐ ing officer's interaction with Trudeau event pro‐ testers:
Former chief says police need to be neutral
Former Ottawa Police chief Charles Bordeleau called the interaction "inappropriate."
"I can see clearly what the officer is trying to do here on the video. He's trying to es‐ tablish and build a relation‐ ship with the demonstrator in order to obtain compliance on the profanity issue," he said.
"But he does so at the ex‐ pense of his own credibility and also [is] no longer being neutral by expressing his own opinions."
Police officers need to show neutrality in order to keep the peace, Bordeleau added.
"If you start showing favours to one particular side or another side, that may es‐ calate issues," he said.
Bordeleau, now a senior adviser with StrategyCorp, said he suspects the OPP al‐ so will look into whether the officer compromised opera‐ tional information.
"Now, I don't know if it was obvious where the PM went in or out, but he also disclosed the fact where the PM actually drove in," he said. "So I think the OPP will look at that from an opera‐ tional perspective. Is he dis‐ closing sensitive informa‐ tion?"
WATCH: Trudeau asked to comment on OPP officer
In a statement, the RCMP, which is responsible for pro‐ tecting the prime minister at all times, said it "continuous‐ ly" reviews its protective measures and practices.
"For security reasons, the RCMP doesn't comment on specifics when it comes to se‐ curity measures afforded to the prime minister, nor on potential ongoing investiga‐ tions led by other law en‐ forcement agencies," the RCMP said in a statement provided to CBC News.
Trudeau also wouldn't comment on security matters when asked about the video Friday
"The ability to throw out insults at the person, the prime minister, is something that is protected here in Canada and is really impor‐ tant for people to be able to express themselves. That's really key," he added.
"At the same time, how‐ ever, politicians need to be very, very careful that they don't feed into divisions amongst Canadians, polariza‐ tions or conspiracy theories."
Policing at protests un‐ der scrutiny
Police officers have faced al‐ legations in recent years of being sympathetic toward certain protesters, including participants in the the 2022 self-stylized "Freedom Con‐ voy" that gridlocked down‐ town Ottawa and some bor‐ der points for weeks.
The Ottawa Police Service came under fire after intelli‐ gence documents tabled at the ensuing public inquiry showed the police initially characterized the "Freedom Convoy" protest as "organic" and "middle class."
"At the time of writing, there is no critical intelli‐ gence to suggest any sort of violent actions or concerns for violence," one of the intel‐ ligence documents says.
Testifying under oath at the inquiry, Keith Wilson, a lawyer who represented con‐ voy organizers, confirmed or‐ ganizers were receiving "a steady stream" of leaks from "sympathetic"police officers.
Recently, some pro-Pales‐ tinian groups have alleged Toronto Police officers en‐ force rules selectively at or‐ ganized protests.
The police service has pushed back against the sug‐ gestion that it employs a double standard.
"We recognize the vast majority of people showing up are there for a cause, and to speak up and be heard," Toronto Police Deputy Chief Lauren Pogue said at a news conference this month.
"However, there are indi‐ viduals consistently involved in the protests who act as ag‐ itators and who are becom‐ ing increasingly confronta‐ tional and violent."
WATCH: Former RCMP deputy commissioner says video of OPP officer is 'deeply troubling'