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Sloley is the third police officer to say they did not directly request the summons
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June 2, 2022 • 3 hours ago • 4 minutes reading • 155 comments Former Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloley is waiting to appear as a witness in the House of Commons and Household Affairs Committee on Thursday, June 2, 2022 in Ottawa. Photo by Adrian Wild / The Canadian Press
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OTTAWA – Former Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloley told lawmakers that the freedom convoy was an unprecedented challenge, but also said he had not asked the liberal government to refer to the city’s emergency cleanup.
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“I did not make this request, I do not know anyone else in the Ottawa Police Department who did it.
Sloley is the third police officer to say they did not directly request the summons, including current Ottawa chief Steve Bell and RCMP commissioner Brenda Lucky. Sloley led the Ottawa police during most of the convoy’s protest, but resigned shortly after the Emergency Situations Act was introduced.
Citing a law granting police extraordinary powers, Liberal cabinet ministers said they had consulted with police, who told them they needed unprecedented authorities to end the Ottawa occupation and several border point.
Slowley testified before a House of Commons committee investigating the potential to expand the parliamentary section to include some of the streets south of Parliament Hill after freedom convoy protesters seized some of the same streets.
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PHOTO: A woman greets a truck driver as vehicles line the streets of the Center during the Freedom Convoy. Photo by Ashley Fraser / Postmedia
Sloli said the protests were unprecedented and would be difficult for anyone to manage.
“I have never experienced this and I have been involved in major planned and unplanned incidents in this country across the country and internationally,” he said.
The former chief asked for resources from the federal and provincial governments, mostly police officers, but said he also needed tugs and other help.
He said that if he had received 1,800 officers, as he had asked during the crisis, he was confident that the protests could be stopped. He said attracting all these officers here is a challenge, but the federal and provincial governments are helping.
“The plan in force required at least 1,800 police officers. When these officers arrived, I had full confidence in the commanders and tactical officers to put this plan into action for safe and effective resolution.
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Eventually, after the implementation of the emergency law, which froze the bank accounts of convoy drivers and allowed the government to close access to the area and launch tow trucks, nearly 2,000 police officers moved in and cleared the area.
Sloley said there was simply no roadmap to follow for such a big protest, as heavy trucks blocked the route.
“This was an unprecedented crisis of national security for which our institutions were not fully prepared.
Prior to becoming Ottawa’s chief, Sloley worked with Toronto police. Conservative MP Brad Wiss asked if additional staff could be recruited for events such as the G20 in Toronto, why they could not be recruited for the event instead of referring to the act.
Sloley rejected the comparison and said the events were not similar.
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“I do not think this is a comparison worthy of the discussions we need to really prepare for such events in the future. I would suggest January 6 in the United States, Washington, DC, would be better.
Senator Vernon White, a former Ottawa police chief, said he had long viewed Wellington Street as a major security issue on Parliament Hill.
The street runs right in front of the parliament, between the House of Commons and the Prime Minister’s Office. During the column, the street was completely closed with large trucks and a large crane was placed meters from the prime minister’s office. White said allowing large vehicles to pass through the area is a serious problem.
“As long as vehicles have direct access to this place, we are at risk of large vehicles being used to deliver explosives, and as a result we are at high risk of a catastrophic event on Wellington Street.
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White said he expects other major protests around Parliament Hill and the government should step up security in the area.
“This is the beginning, not the end. I think we will have future events that we were not prepared for, and I think it is better to try to improve that. “
White agreed with Sloley on the unprecedented nature of the protests and said it was difficult to understand the scale of the protests until they arrived in Ottawa.
Sloley said he believed there should be changes to the site’s design, including poles, the possible creation of a pedestrian center and other barriers, but said handing over jurisdiction would not be easy.
“Changing jurisdiction is the problem, it’s not impossible, but it’s the challenging part of what you’re trying to deal with.”
He said it would require a lot of co-operation between governments and clear lines of power. He said that even if the jurisdiction over Wellington and Sparks was changed, it would still require constant coordination between the many police agencies that patrol Ottawa.
“You could redraw this limit to 417, you will still have challenges during the day with communication, coordination, cooperation, levels of readiness to gather intelligence, none of these problems disappear.”
Twitter: RyanTumilty Email: rtumilty@postmedia.com
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