Witness says police, Freedom Convoy leaders worked together in advance on plan for ‘peaceful’ protest
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On Day 19 of the trial for Freedom Convoy leaders Tamara Lich and Chris Barber, an Ottawa police liaision testified that the cops and protesters communicated beforehand and actually had a parking plan in place.
(LifeSiteNews) – Day 19 of the trial for Freedom Convoy leaders Tamara Lich and Chris Barber saw Ottawa police services (OPS) police liaison team officer Isabelle Cyr testify about how law enforcement seemed to work well with the protesters in the days leading up to the protests, admitting truckers intended to engage in a “peaceful” protest.
The Democracy Fund (TDF), which is crowdfunding Lich’s legal costs, in a Day 19 court trial update noted that Cyr was responsible for gathering information about the Freedom Convoy from “various sources, including email, telephone, and signal chats throughout the protest,” before they arrived in Ottawa.
In court on Wednesday, Cyr said the OPS had in place an agreement with the Freedom Convoy participants, saying “the city agreed that the trucks would be permitted to park on Wellington and that this was decided as early as January 19.”
The TDF stated that Cyr had been in contact with the protesters before they arrived in Ottawa to gather information for the police liaison teams that “assisted in directing the protesters to downtown Ottawa.”
During Cyr’s cross-examination by Lich and Barber’s legal counsel, the court learned not only about the city agreement with the truckers to park on Wellington Street but also how there was a “discussion” on January 20, 2022, about “how many of the truckers were ‘registered.’”
Cyr told the court she was aware of the “registration” contract that was given to the truckers, which said that the protesters would be given water, food, and other supplies.
Police witness testifies truckers’ goal was to engage in ‘peaceful’ protest
In court Wednesday, Cyr testified that it was her understanding that, as noted by the TDF, “the truckers intended to engage in a peaceful protest.”
During her testimony, she also discussed various police route planning details that the OPS had given to the Freedom Convoy participants.
The court also learned that she attended meetings with multiple police agencies and intelligence services before the main Convoy arrived in Ottawa.