Day 2 of ‘Freedom Convoy’ trial hears police were told: ‘Not one inch’
The Ottawa Police Service incident commander in charge of the “Freedom Convoy” response told the court hearing a trial of two of its organizers that work to shrink the footprint was undermined after the first weekend by an order to not to give an inch of downtown.
Insp. Russell Lucas told the court that police plans had to change on the fly after the bulk of the vehicles arrived on January 29, and he realized the OPS underestimated the scope of the convoy.
“We weren’t going to stop it, so how do we minimize the impact to the city as a whole?” Lucas told the court, speaking as a witness.
Lucas is the second witness in the trial of convoy organizers Tamara Lich and Chris Barber. The pair are charged with mischief, counselling to commit mischief, intimidation and obstructing police for their alleged roles in the demonstration.
On the first weekend of the demonstration, Lucas told the court an estimated 5,000 vehicles made their way into Ottawa. Many, including hundreds of semi-trucks, parked in downtown Ottawa and throughout the parliamentary precinct.
Lucas told the court the OPS did not have a full scope of the size of the protest until January 28, when much of the convoy arrived in the capital.
Justice Heather Perkins-McVay asked Lucas when he realized that the initial plans put in place by the OPS would need to change.
“On the Friday when they were coming in,” Lucas told the justice.
In response, Crown prosecutor Siobhan Westcher asked Lucas what kind of impact this had on OPS members and resources.
“They were stretched thin. Just had to delegate to members and the team leads to make independent decisions on how best to ensure public safety,” Lucas responded.
He said their intelligence pointed to an estimate of 100
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