Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Thomas Carrique takes part in a news conference in Vaughan, Ont., on June 20, 2019.Andrew Lahodynskyj/The Canadian Press
The head of Ontario’s provincial police force is defending his officers' conduct at the site of an Indigenous land dispute that escalated to violence last week.
Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Thomas Carrique says on social media that protesters have “falsely blamed” the force for escalating the conflict in Caledonia, Ont. Demonstrators at the site of a proposed housing development say officers injured two people using a taser and rubber bullets last week, while officers allege a cruiser was damaged.
Commissioner Carrique tweeted Sunday night that he is proud of what he calls officers' “measured response” to the situation.
He also shared a video that appears to be shot from within a police car showing two people striking the windshield with a lacrosse stick.
The occupants at the land reclamation camp known as 1492 Land Back Lane say Commissioner Carrique’s post is an out-of-context attempt to reframe the violence and further escalate tension.
The site has been occupied since July and demonstrators say the development near Six Nations of the Grand River First Nation is on unceded land and violates the sovereignty of the Haudenosaunee people.
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