Police assessment didn’t warn protesters would use Ottawa locals as ‘leverage’: Bell
In the days leading up to the mass protest in Ottawa last winter, police didn’t have intelligence suggesting the “Freedom Convoy” would use local citizens as a “leverage point”, interim police chief Steve Bell said Monday.
Commission lawyer Frank Au spent the morning questioning Bell about police intelligence ahead of the protest, including a threat assessment police prepared for the convoy’s expected arrival in Ottawa on Jan. 29. But Bell testified the available intelligence before protesters arrived showed the convoy would largely be a three-day event, with only a small number staying longer than one weekend.
He said nothing in the intelligence warned that protesters would end up using Ottawa residents as collateral damage.