‘Hey little buddy, your hockey career is over’: one arrested when anti-vaccine protesters attack Whitby children’s clinic

Durham police arrested a woman Dec. 1 in a plaza parking lot in North Whitby outside a COVID-19 childhood vaccination clinic.

Video of the arrest circulates on social media and showed the woman asking a Durham police officer if he had “investigated the crime” inside the vaccination clinic.

Durham Police spokeswoman Jodi MacLean said officers were on the scene Dec. 1 in a plaza at 4160 Baldwin St. where a vaccination clinic is located and there was a group of protesters.

“Our officers ordered the protesters to gather in a designated area of ​​the parking lot to keep the path and entrance to the clinic clear,” he said.

“The protesters complied for the most part. There was an arrest for not leaving when directed. One person approached the door and caused a bit of a disturbance, so officers were on the scene to arrest, but the other protesters stayed in the designated area. “

MacLean said the clinic continued to operate and the arrest was made under the Provincial Crimes Act, for which the woman was released after receiving a fine.

MacLean declined to reveal the woman’s name and said he is not aware of any other similar arrests at the children’s clinic.

“This was the first at a pediatric clinic in the region that I know of,” said MacLean, adding that the police were balancing people’s ability to protest while making sure that people who wanted to enter the clinic could do it.

In another video, a male protester can be heard yelling, “Hi buddy, your hockey career is over, you won’t be playing sports again.”

In response to a Tweet highlighting the video, a representative from the SmartCentres REIT confirmed that the incident occurred on the company’s Whitby property and said they were working with DRPS.

“We have authorized the police to remove disruptive protesters from our properties in the future, should they decide to return,” the company tweeted. “We have been supporting vaccination clinics across Canada, making available space free of charge to public health authorities. What happened last night is unacceptable. We are taking steps to ensure that this does not happen in the future and we apologize to those affected by the disruption. “

Reference-www.thestar.com