Council was told security hired to prevent encampments wouldn’t make arrests. One councillor is questioning why city documents say otherwise.
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The Calgary Police Service has acknowledged its officers violated the human rights of at least one protester who was arrested over a month ago at the downtown camp.
Last month, a group called “Calgary Counter-Indoctrination Project”, which was organized by a U.K. human rights group, said it was asked to leave the camp after it posted videos and photos of officers involved in what it said were police misconduct.
The police have not said what happened to the group, but the Alberta Human Rights Commission has confirmed it received a complaint from its client, which it’s reviewing.
The police agency said in a statement Thursday that the incident “involved an interaction between an officer and a person outside of the camp.”
It said the force is reviewing the matter, adding the human rights commission also has started an investigation and will share its findings with the Calgary Police Service.
Calgary Police Service
The Calgary Police Service said it had no choice but to intervene by arresting individuals who were blocking the sidewalk outside City Hall. “We don’t want to see the public lose confidence in the Calgary Police Service,” the statement said.
The Calgary Police Service was asked to come forward by the Calgary Coalition Against Violence on Thursday.
Calgary Alliance for Minorities says it’s been fighting for the rights of the group for one year. They say the group’s name is a reference to the U.K.-based National Union of Students, which was founded in 1971 and has the slogan: “We demand freedom.”
The university student group was one of the victims of National Union of Students after being forced to move from its campus in London.
