G8 protesters call police response heavy-handed
Posted Apr 26, 2010 01:56:37 PM.
This article is more than 5 years old.
Halifax police are being accused of being heavy-handed in dealing with those protesting the G8 conference in the city this week.
Toni MacAfee, a Canadian Union of Postal Workers representative, was the woman arrested by police during Monday’s protest.
Kyle Buott of the Halifax-Dartmouth and District Labour Council says he witnessed the incident and says it was not justified.
“I was there. I saw this happen,” says Buott. “I did not see anything that justified this woman being pulled down by three police officers.”
Another protester claims police asked the crowd to move, then one officer grabbed MacAfee by the shoulder. The next thing police had her on the ground.
Buott says the police response overall to the protests has been inappropriate.
“They entered the crowd at several points, took items from protesters,” says Buott. “That is not a way to foster a safe environment during a peaceful demonstration and I think they could very much benefit from crowd control training.”
Cst. Brian Palmeter with Halifax police says while most of the crowds have been peaceful, some have pushed the limits.
“When that happens it puts us in a position of having to respond,” says Palmeter.
MacAfee faces charges of assaulting a police officer.
