Toronto Police Service (TPS) officers gave a box of Tim Hortons coffee and a pastry to pro-Palestine protestors on behalf of people who could not access a blocked road. “Someone brought it for us, but the police won’t let them in,” said a pro-Palestine protestor at the Saturday event. “So the police is now becoming our little messengers between us.”.The two TPS officers walked around a bus to give the coffee and pastry to the protestors. Another protestor confronted an officer about a person not knowing he could not come back. “Otherwise he would have said ‘OK, I understand,’” said the protestor. When it came to the situation, the officer said he would see what he could do and walked away. The officers handed the coffee and pastry to the first protestor, with the one holding the latter smiling as he gave it away. “How did you get coffee from the police?” said Canadian independent journalist Caryma Sa’d’s camera operator. While the protestor was grateful for the coffee and pastry, he said he does not know what is going on. He admitted he would be staying on the bridge, but no one else could come on. The protestor said this made no sense. “Because if we’re already on the bridge, how is there a public safety incident?” he said. TPS media relations officer Laura Brabant responded in a since-deleted tweet by saying its officers were managing a dynamic situation. “In performing a helpful act today, our officer’s motivation was to help keep tensions low and should not be interpreted as showing support for any cause or group,” said Brabant. “Our officers continue to work to deescalate these demonstrations.”.TPS said on Wednesday it had initiated an investigation into suspected hate-motivated arson and graffiti at International Delicatessen Foods. READ MORE: Toronto police investigating suspected hate-motivated arson, graffiti at Jewish deli“This isn’t lawful protest protected by Constitutional rights,” said TPS Staff Supt. Pauline Gray. “It’s criminal.”
