Calgary Police Service (CPS) Chief Constable Mark Neufeld said Calgarians can expect the number of charges laid during political street protests to increase in the coming year. The Calgary Herald reported CPS said the large demonstrations attracting hundreds of people are costing $30,000 each time to patrol — a task performed by up to 120 officers. “A lot of it’s front-line members who would otherwise be in districts who are redeployed folks on their days off coming in,” said Neufeld. “There will definitely be an impact on overtime [costs] and call-out for members to police the protest.”If CPS moved resources out of other districts, Neufeld said it “spells degradation to the services to Calgarians.”With the officers policing protests, he acknowledged they are destined to make more arrests and lay more charges during protests that often see two sides facing off. He predicted CPS will see more charges, as the protest environment continues to evolve and as groups continue to push limits. He added there will be more arrests and more certainty of court decisions on what is and is not permissible. With so many situations going on in the world and people engaging their freedom of peaceful assembly, he said he does not see the protests stopping any time soon. Protests linked to the Israel-Hamas War have been a frequent reality in Calgary’s downtown and inner city for more than two months. Israel and the United States have said they expect the Israel-Hamas War to continue indefinitely, and pro-Palestine protestors have vowed to hit the streets for as long as the killings continue. CPS has made several arrests stemming from protest activities, including a causing a disturbance charge against pro-Palestine protest organizer Wesam Cooley, who chanted what it alleged was a hateful message. Liberty Law lawyer Zachary Al-Khatib confirmed in November the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service stayed the charge against Cooley. READ MORE: Charge stayed against Calgary pro-Palestine protest organizer“It’s heartening that the Alberta Crown Prosecution Service has acted swiftly,” said Al-Khatib. “It shows me that after considering the evidence and public interest, a decision was made that this case has no merit.”.Neufeld went on to say he expects more charges to be laid because protestors, particularly those splintering from the main body of demonstrations, appear more willing to engage in direct actions disrupting infrastructure such as roads and government buildings. “The protest environment has increased in both frequency and complexity,” he said.When it comes to future protests, he said CPS learned lessons from anti-lockdown protests, whose participants marched through downtown and inner city streets for months and were confronted by counterprotestors. One of the lessons he said it learned was it gave too much latitude to protestors. “We were leaning too far in facilitating people’s rights and not taking into consideration the impacts on the community, and it’s something we’ve changed in our approach,” he said. After the pro-Palestine protests had been happening for a few months, he urged protestors to refrain from gathering at Tomkins Park, arguing the area by the Calgary Municipal Building was more spacious and had less potential for disruptions. But the protestors shifted their actions towards Tomkins Park, saying they were more visible and interactive. So far, he said these protests have not resulted in major problems. Cooley said he was troubled by Neufeld’s prediction of more arrests. “It’s completely inappropriate for the police chief to be making comments pre-emptively,” he said.“Our protests are lawful, peaceful, welcoming and we’ve been co-operating with police.”When he was arrested for chanting “from the river to sea, Palestine will be free,” he said it was outrageous, especially because counterprotestors employed people dressed as Arab militants acting out rape scenarios at a downtown protest. He admitted it was “what could only be described as rape theatre, and this was done right in front of police and there were no arrests.”
