The Ottawa Police Service says it’s started handing out tickets and laying charges in the city’s downtown core in connection with the ongoing trucker protests following days of criticism that noise bylaws and the rules of the road were not being enforced.
The OPS laid 30 traffic tickets while patrolling the Centretown, Sandy Hill, Glebe and the ByWard Market/Lowertown neighbourhoods on Wednesday, all areas surrounding the convoy’s footprint on Wellington Street in front of Parliament Hill.
The tickets fell as follows:
- Eight charges for unnecessary noise (honking of horns);
- One charge for transporting dangerous goods (insecure fuel cars);
- One charge for an improper muffler;
- Four charges for disobeying traffic signs;
- Two charges for driving the wrong way on a one-way street;
- One charge for an unsafe lane change;
- One charge for distracted driving;
- One charge for running a stop sign;
- Six speeding tickets;
- And five document offences.
Ottawa police say one driver was charged for driving while criminally prohibited and the vehicle was impounded for 45 days. A police spokesperson couldn’t immediately say what kind of vehicle this was when asked Thursday morning.
The penalties mark a departure from police’s enforcement approach to date, which had seen officers and the city’s bylaw department avoid cracking down on traffic violations.
“Police have avoided ticketing and towing vehicles so as not to instigate confrontations with demonstrators,” OPS said in a statement on Sunday.
This approach had received backlash from some residents and city officials who called for more direct action from police in managing and winding down the protests, which have seen downtown streets filled with honking at all hours of the day.
Others have reported harassment in confrontations with the protesters.
As of Thursday, Ottawa police have now charged four people criminally in connection with the demonstration.
On Wednesday evening police also released a photo of a suspect they’re seeking to identify in connection with investigations into the desecration of the National War Memorial.
OPS Chief Peter Sloly warned Wednesday that there might not be a “policing solution” to the ongoing protest, which is expected to swell in size again on the weekend.
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