A private citizen has filed a formal complaint about police tactics used when they clashed with protesters during the destruction of a small homeless shelter this summer.
The complaint filed with Halifax police was outlined today by Chief Daniel Kinsella during a city board meeting considering another possible civilian review of the tensions that erupted Aug. 18 outside the former Halifax Public Library site.
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Kinsella told the Halifax board of police commissioners, a municipal oversight board, about the initiation of the investigation when commissioners heard from a city attorney that they may not have the jurisdiction to order their own independent review.
The chief said the citizen’s complaint is about “perceived issues” of police performance in areas such as whether officers properly identified themselves or used excessive force when using chemical irritants and riot gear against crowds.
After hearing about the complaint, the city board members decided to submit their own potential review for a personnel study and to obtain an outside legal opinion on whether it had legal jurisdiction to proceed.
In the complaint of a private citizen, the first step is for the police to carry out an internal review and, if the citizen is not satisfied, the matter can be presented before the complaints commissioner of the provincial police and, finally, before a hearing public police review board.
© 2021 The Canadian Press
Reference-globalnews.ca