Edmonton's police chief defends enforcement during convoy protests

Edmonton’s police chief is defending how his officers monitored three convoy protests through the city’s downtown over recent weekends.

Chief Dale McFee told reporters Wednesday that despite objections on social media, officers have kept the protests and those involved safe.

"The fact that we've had no major incidents just speaks to the professionalism of the people involved,” McFee said.

“We don't have the situations going on in other cities,” he added, noting the cache of weapons police recovered earlier this week at the convoy protest near the Coutts border crossing.

Demonstrators connected with the "Freedom Convoy" have moved onto the legislature grounds and through central Edmonton for the last three Saturdays in a row.

Last weekend, a group of about 30 counter-protesters blocked a convoy of demonstrators for almost an hour by standing at a marked crosswalk on River Valley Road near the Royal Glenora Club.

But questions about police enforcement during the event grew after several of the counter-protesters claimed police threatened them with arrest as well as the prospect of criminal charges or fines.

"It was a little bit surprising to me the level of mobilization to respond to us," counter-protester Bradley Lafortune said. "It maybe felt disproportionate, to say the least.”

He questioned why the police were slow to enforce a court-ordered noise injunction amid sounds of truck horns from the convoy.

"There was a pretty clear focus of energy and resources and time by the police on counter-demonstrators as opposed to the convoy.”

When asked about that incident, McFee cited the need to keep the two groups apart and get the road open.

"Our job is to prevent confrontations between protesters and counter-protesters,” he said.

“The more rhetoric, the more anger, the more protesting and counter-protesting, the greater chance of someone getting hurt.”

He said the city’s noise injunction did little to change the situation on the ground and that “rule number one” was to keep people moving.

“To think that we're going to focus on tickets alone, I don't think that's being up front with the public,” he said. “The injunction does not grant us any more power than we currently have through existing bylaws.”

Edmonton police told CTV News on Sunday that policing during public demonstrations is a complex task, but its priority is to uphold public safety and order.

"Citizens were intentionally blocking and impeding traffic on River Valley Road and were asked to move onto the sidewalk to ensure their safety and to allow traffic to flow," said Cheryl Sheppard, EPS spokesperson, in a statement.

Police tweeted during Saturday’s protest that “enforcement is taking place” and officers were “speaking with and educating motorists about this issue when it is safe to do.”

EPS said 10 tickets were issued to drivers involved in the convoy demonstrations last Saturday.

Another 60 tickets will be mailed to the registered owners of participating vehicles, including nine tickets related to noise violations.