Police officers on horseback allegedly plowed through a crowd of Canadian protesters known as the “Freedom Convoy” as they continued to protest the government’s COVID-19 restrictions and vaccine mandates in Ottawa.
A video posted to Twitter appeared to show Ottawa Police officers making their way through a crowd and trampling over two people with their horses. As the horses step on the individuals, the crowd quickly surrounds them to help.
The videographer can be heard saying, “they just trampled that lady. They just fully trampled that lady.”
Officers on foot in protective gear and carrying batons then appear to push the crowd back in the video. Members of the crowd begin to push against the officers as they order demonstrators to leave the area immediately, threatening arrest.
“The protesters continued their assaultive behaviour with the police line, to prevent an escalation or further injury, mounted officers were sent in to create critical space between the police line and protesters,” the Ottawa Police wrote on Twitter.
The protesters continued their assaultive behaviour with the police line, to prevent an escalation or further injury, mounted officers were sent in to create critical space between the police line and protesters. This is done to create a safe distance. pic.twitter.com/PUIj7w1rwc
— Ottawa Police (@OttawaPolice) February 18, 2022
Authorities claimed that a bicycle was thrown at the feet of one of the horses in an attempt to injure it. One person was arrested for allegedly intentionally harming a police service animal.
The confrontation between police and protesters comes four days after Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau took the unprecedented stepof invoking the Emergencies Act to stop the truck blockades.
The Freedom Convoy originally began as a protest against the country’s vaccine mandate, instated in January, that required all Canadian truckers who cross the U.S.-Canadian border to be fully vaccinated against the virus or face possible quarantine or testing.
This is a developing story and will be updated as more information becomes available.
Update 02/18/22, 7:30 p.m. ET: This article has been updated with additional information and a tweet from the Ottawa Police.
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