Ottawa police thought allowing protest trucks on Wellington Street would protect rest of the city
Another Ottawa officer told the inquiry he tried to raise concerns with how long protesters would stay
The incident commander in charge of policing the protests in Ottawa last winter allowed protesters to park in front of Parliament Hill because he thought that would protect the rest of the city from disruptions, documents tabled with the Emergencies Act inquiry this morning say.
While Ottawa Police Insp. Russell Lucas told the Public Order Emergency Commission he was concerned about a January 6-type insurrectionist attack happening in Ottawa, he told the commission he did not believe allowing vehicles to park in front of Parliament Hill posed a risk because the House of Commons was not sitting that week and he felt he had enough officers to respond if protesters attempted to storm the Hill.
Lucas spoke this summer to lawyers with the Public Order Emergency Commission, which is holding an inquiry into the federal government's use of the Emergencies Act to quell the protests that gridlocked parts of downtown Ottawa for weeks. A summary of his interview was entered into evidence at the inquiry on Tuesday.
"Inspector Lucas explained that he approved allowing Freedom Convoy trucks to park on Wellington St. to protect the rest of the city from disruption," the summary reads.
"There is a requirement to balance the needs of everyone. There is also a need to find the right compromise where protesters can get their message out without compromising safety."
It was Lucas who approved the decision to allow trucks and vehicles to enter downtown Ottawa and park on Wellington St. He said his planning team proposed that decision and he approved it. Lucas said it was also sent up the chain of command for approval.
The Parliamentary Protective Service met with Lucas on Jan. 27 — before the trucks rolled in — to ask Ottawa police to not allow protest convoy trailers onto Wellington Street, documents tabled with the inquiry show.
"Lucas determined that permitting Freedom Convoy trucks and vehicles to park on Wellington St. would not pose a significant risk because Parliament was not in session on January 29-30 and he believed that he had sufficient [public order unit] members in place to protect Parliament Hill if convoy participants attempted to storm it," the summary of his interview says.
Lucas told the commission's lawyers he was concerned that blocking access to Wellington Street would "displace Freedom Convoy trucks and vehicles into other Ottawa neighbourhoods, where they could interfere with residents' daily activities, public transit, key bridges and access to hospitals."
Trucks ended up parking both along Wellington Street and in residential areas, blocking access to main arteries in the city for three weeks. The protest was marked by idling trucks and incessant honking. The region's children's hospital said 13 families with children needing cancer treatment saw their care delayed or rescheduled due to the protest.
Lucas said the force quickly became overwhelmed and it felt like "drinking from the firehose" as vehicles arrived in Ottawa on Jan. 29.
"The analogy I use is I have one load of sandbags, and we're building a wall, but you see the waters are rising faster and you know you're going to get overwhelmed with the water that's coming," he said during testimony before the commission inquiry on Tuesday.
The incident commander said it became difficult to police the protests because the convoy was fractured and had different organizers and participants with different agendas.
It became especially hard to negotiate with a group entrenched near the intersection of Rideau Street and Sussex Drive who were associated with the Quebec-based Farfaada movement, Lucas told the commission.
He described them to the commission as "a freeman-on-the-land, separatist, anarchist group with trucks."
Lucas worried about a Jan. 6 event
Lucas and others within the service were under the impression that the protesters would leave after the first weekend — despite warnings and intelligence reports that suggested some protesters were threatening to stay until there was change in government and vaccine mandates were dropped.
WATCH | Ottawa police inspector discusses 2022 Ottawa protests
He testified that around Jan. 24, he didn't feel the convoy posed any heightened concerns and he was focusing on traffic management.
He said he didn't learn about Project Hendon — an intelligence sharing network led by the Ontario Provincial Police that had eyes on the convoy protest — until around Jan. 25 or 26
"[Lucas] became concerned that anti-government elements might be joining the convoy and that convoy participants might attempt to storm Parliament Hill in a manner similar to the January 6, 2021 attack on the U.S. Capitol," says his witness summary.
Previous testimony before the commission showed the Ottawa police did not have a contingency plan ready in the event the crowds and vehicles stayed past the first Monday.
OPS superintendent tried to flag 'bizarre disconnect'
The commission also heard from an Ottawa city police officer who said he had concerns about how long protesters would stay in the city and tried to raise them internally.
Supt. Robert Bernier testified before the inquiry Tuesday afternoon. When the protesters were headed to Ottawa last January, he oversaw the 911 call centre, the dispatch service and the Ottawa Police Service command centre
Bernier read one of the Hendon reports on Jan. 27. It indicated that some protesters were planning to stay in Ottawa until their demands were met, that some hoped to force a change in government and that some held anti-government views.
He said he tried to raise it with his superior.
"He told Superintendent [Robert] Drummond that there seemed to be a bizarre disconnect between the intelligence contained in the Project Hendon reports and OPS's preparations," said a summary of the interview he gave to the commission in August.
"Aside from asking questions and raising concerns, Superintendent Bernier stated that he left planning and preparing for the Freedom Convoy to Inspector Lucas and the special events team and stayed 'in his lane.'"
Bernier told the commission that, early the next morning, he read an Ottawa police operational report which appeared to be planning for a two-day event, while the Project Hendon reports indicated some protesters were planning to stay until their demands were met.
Bernier told the commission he asked Drummond if the force needed help policing the convoy but was told he was not needed.
"He thus went on a pre-planned ski trip on the weekend of January 29-30," said his interview summary, entered into evidence at the inquiry.
Drummond is scheduled to testify on Wednesday.
Intelligence team wasn't watching social media
Lucas told the commission the Ottawa Police Service's intelligence unit was understaffed and couldn't monitor social media.
"OPS does not have a dedicated social media monitoring team and a social media analyst employed by the Waterloo Regional Police Service shared information with OPS," said his interview summary.
"In [Lucas's] view, gathering and assessing intelligence about protest activities that could potentially threaten public safety and public order was a gap area that fell between the responsibilities of the OPS intelligence unit and the OPS special events office."
Sloly was after 'quick wins': Lucas
In documents tabled with the inquiry, Lucas told the commission that Ottawa Police Chief Peter Sloly "began to interfere" with operational decision-making during the week of Jan. 31.
Lucas said Sloly and the rest of the Ottawa Police executive were under pressure from the police board, city councillors and community groups to address the concerns of residents and were focused on obtaining "quick enforcement wins that would be public relations successes."
"Inspector Lucas told the commission he was critical of this focus on quick wins because it diverted OPS resources that he needed to stabilize the downtown core. Those diverted resources were sent to address city councillor concerns in outer areas of the downtown," said Lucas's witness summary.
"He did not receive prior notice of shifting directions from the executive, and he lacked the resources in place to implement those directions."
Bernier says there were no overall plans Feb. 3- Feb. 10
Bernier told the commission that he was not aware of any overall operational plan between Feb. 3 and Feb. 10
"Specifically, during this period, OPS lacked an overall plan to restore normalcy to Ottawa and Superintendent Bernier was not aware of any requests to prepare such a plan before Feb. 10," said Bernier's interview summary.
Instead, he said the service command centre was receiving requests for what he called "small, ad hoc plans," including plans to clear the protester site at Coventry Road, to clear the Rideau/Sussex intersection and to seize gas.
"None of these plans contained contingency plans for how police would respond if the execution of any one such plan backfired, caused additional protesters to arrive, or caused protesters to become violent," said Bernier's interview summary.
Bernier was appointed event commander the night of Feb. 10.
He said the Ontario Provincial Police, the RCMP and the Ottawa police began to map a plan to end the occupation of Ottawa. The result was something he referred to as the Feb. 17 plan, which included tactical, public order, traffic, towing, investigation and arrest plans.
Bernier told the commission that by Feb. 17, he had received all the officers that he needed to implement the plan.
The inquiry is investigating the federal government's use of the Emergencies Act to quell the protests that gridlocked parts of downtown Ottawa for weeks.
The commission has been directed to examine the circumstances that led to the declaration of a public emergency, including the actions of police prior to and after the declaration.
Bernier told the commission he was planning to carry out a police operation whether or not the federal government declared a public order emergency.
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