Pro-Palestinian protest organizers call for police accountability

A group of pro-Palestinian protest organizers say they are being unfairly targeted by police and are calling for accountability.

Representatives from Justice for Palestinians, Independent Jewish Voices Calgary, Watermelon Foundation for Justice and the Calgary Student movement are accusing Calgary Police Service (CPS) officers of using excessive force during their protests.

“Organizers of these rallies have been subjected to a long series of discriminatory acts, double standards of the application of the law and abuses of power by Calgary police and city bylaw officers,” said Wesam Cooley with Justice of Palestinians.

The organizers are pointing to a Sept. 15th gathering at Tompkin’s Park on 17th Avenue where 12 tickets were issued and three people were arrested during what they describe as a peaceful protest, but CPS disagrees.

In a statement, CPS says “event organizers refused to collaborate with the CPS. The lack of cooperation was despite attempts from officers leading up to and during the protest that would have allowed for a safe and lawful protest to occur.

As a result, the CPS was required to take enforcement steps to ensure the safety of demonstrators, motorists, and also out of consideration for the rights of the impacted community.”

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But the organizers believe this is a pattern of behaviour from authorities. In May, protesters set up camp at the University of Calgary, calling on administration for funding transparency and to divest from all companies with ties to Israel.

Police were called in to dismantle the encampment and tensions escalated. CPS says objects were being thrown at officers leading them to fire back with non-lethal weapons.

However, the organizers say it was another peaceful protest and those in attendance were cooperating with police and had already begun taking down their tents. They accuse CPS of injuring a number of protesters in the altercations.

“We will be pursuing lawsuits and human rights complaints against the City of Calgary and CPS and will be demanding an independent inquiry into discrimination and abuse of power by the Calgary police,” said Cooley.

CPS says it police’s behaviours not beliefs, and officer actions are dictated by protester behaviour, adding it has worked successfully with a variety of protest organizers to facilitate peaceful and lawful protests.

The Palestinian protest organizers had submitted FOIP requests to CPS to gain information about how their rallies were handled. They are also calling on the Calgary Police Commission to hold the police service accountable for their actions.

“If we can’t understand who’s responsible then we don’t know who to pursue for further information about why this happened to us and why this violence persists against pro-Palestinian protesters,” said Euan Thompson, one of the protesters at the U of C encampment.

According to CPS there has been a 260-per cent increase in protests, demonstrations and rallies since 2019. Between January 2023 and May 2024, CPS recorded 572 protests, 238 (42 per cent) of which required varying levels of police intervention to ensure the safety of participants, the public and officers.

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