Former Ottawa police chief 'failed miserably' to plan for occupation of downtown: retired police inspector
A retired Ottawa police inspector says the Ottawa Police Service and former Police Chief Peter Sloly made glaring errors and devastating miscalculations in preparing the capital for the demonstration that has now occupied the downtown core for more than two weeks.
Patrick Flanagan says the “job of police is to plan for extreme scenarios” and Sloly didn’t do it.
“It was evident early on, with the desecration of both the Terry Fox monument and the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier, that passive policing was an ill-thought out strategy,” Flanagan wrote in response to a series of questions from CTV News Ottawa.
Flanagan spent 37 years on the force and was Sloly's executive officer before he retired last May. He says the police service should have been ready before the first trucks rolled into the city.
“Enforcement should have commenced day one. The plan should have also included tow trucks on standby, parked in the downtown core, the day prior to the siege. It would have sent a strong message,” Flanagan wrote.
Flanagan also says that Sloly changed major incident commanders several times during the crisis, suggesting the former Chief was out of his depth in facing the occupation.
“Having to replace the major incident commander four times suggests a lack of trust and confidence the chief had in his subject matter experts. I would have hoped that he had the operational command experience to back up his constant knee-jerk reactions,” Flanagan wrote.
Flanagan also says Ottawa police have been too slow and too late with implementing a strategy that is still not clear on day 19 of the protest.
“To suggest, after two-plus weeks, that the police finally put together an integrated communication strategy is farcical,” Flanagan wrote.
Flanagan also says the lack of communication with the public during the crisis was a terrible mistake.
“Although the Ottawa Police hired an expensive public relations firm to help them communicate their response, they failed miserably. At times 14 to 15 hours would go by without an update,” Flanagan wrote.
As for front line officers who have been under pressure from the public to do something about the protest downtown, Flanagan believes they have been forced to follow orders many of them don’t agree with.
“Make no mistake, those officers assigned to the occupation were kept on a short leash and ordered not to engage,” he wrote. “In the end, the little trust and confidence the public instilled in the police prior to this occupation quickly evaporated because of lack of proper planning, underestimating the conviction of the protesters, and ultimately the lack of action by police on the front line.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Video shows suspect setting Toronto-area barbershop on fire
Video of a suspect lighting a Richmond Hill barbershop on fire earlier this week has been released by police.
'I have the will to live': N.B. woman needs double lung transplant
A New Brunswick woman suffering from sarcoidosis, a disease that limits your lung capacity, is in need of a double lung transplant.
The kids from 'Mrs. Doubtfire are all SUPER grown up now, and we're not OK
The adorable trio of child actors from the 1993 classic comedy 'Mrs. Doubtfire,' which starred the late and great Robin Williams, are all grown up and looking back on their seminal time together.
Police officer hit by driver of fleeing vehicle in Toronto
York Regional Police say they are continuing to search for a suspect in an auto theft investigation who was captured on video running over a police officer in Toronto last month.
TD worst-case scenario more likely after drug money laundering allegations: analyst
TD Bank Group could be hit with more severe penalties than previously expected, says a banking analyst after a report that the investigation it faces in the U.S. is tied to laundering illicit fentanyl profits.
A Chinese driver is praised for helping reduce casualties in a highway collapse that killed 48
A Chinese truck driver was praised in local media Saturday for parking his vehicle across a highway and preventing more cars from tumbling down a slope after a section of the road in the country's mountainous south collapsed and killed at least 48 people.
Britney Spears 'home and safe' after paramedics responded to an incident at the Chateau Marmont, source tells CNN
A source close to singer Britney Spears tells CNN that the pop star is 'home and safe' after she had a 'major fight' with her boyfriend on Wednesday night at the Chateau Marmont in West Hollywood.
Suter scores late goal, clinches series for Canucks
Pius Suter scored with 1:39 left and the Vancouver Canucks advanced to the second round of the NHL playoffs with a 1-0 victory over the Nashville Predators on Friday night in Game 6.
Premier Legault reiterates that McGill pro-Palestinian camp must be dismantled
Quebec Premier François Legault reiterated that the pro-Palestinian encampment at McGill University must be dismantled while police remain 'on the lookout for new developments.'