Arab Canada News
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Published: May 14, 2024
The chief of police in Calgary stands alongside the officers involved in dispersing a pro-Palestinian protest at the University of Calgary last week.
On May 9, the Calgary Police Service aided campus security officers in dispersing a demonstration on university property that showed no signs of dispersing.
At approximately 11:15 PM that day, the officers used non-lethal force, such as rubber bullets, tear gas, and flashbangs to disperse the protest and arrested several individuals on the scene.
Campus protest camp
Calgary Police Chief Mark Neufeld said in an interview with CTV Morning Live Calgary on Tuesday that he had heard protesters were injured during the police operation, but no one has come forward yet.
"So, if that is the case, I think there should be avenues for people to come forward and report those situations to an independent body."
The police confirmed that the University of Calgary took "a very reasonable and wise stance" regarding the protest.
He said, "It is clear that they will allow freedom of expression and assembly for the student body on campus - and that has never been controversial. The issue was the encampments and actual occupation, the university has a policy against that and they were very concerned."
Neufeld stated that the University of Calgary benefited from observing what happened at other universities in Canada, North America, and even the rest of the world.
"And this came to Alberta later, maybe due to our wet spring, but we anticipated that this might come."
He added, "It was made clear that the protests weren't an issue at all, the issue was the encampments only."
CPS under investigation
The Alberta government announced on Monday that it would direct the Serious Incident Response Team in Alberta, which is the province's police oversight body, to investigate the CPS's actions regarding the protest.
Alberta Premier Danielle Smith stated during question period in the Alberta legislature on Monday: "There is a way to protest peacefully, and you have to protest within the law," repeating comments she made the day after the UC protest that was shut down.
"We have seen protests that got out of control at (the University of California, Los Angeles), and at Columbia (New York University), where universities faced destruction and vandalism, making Jewish students feel unwelcome and frightened.
"These are the kinds of things they need to make sure they are prepared for, so it doesn't get out of control."
Communications breakdown
Neufeld said that before protesters set foot on University of Calgary property, they were in contact with the Calgary Police Service.
He added, "We really wanted to make sure we were communicating with the students so they understood what was going to happen regarding the campus."
"The fact is that cooperating with police to minimize the impact of protests on the community doesn't make headlines."
As a result, Neufeld says the lines of communication between police and protesters failed.
"It is not going in the right direction, to be completely honest."
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