Riot police wielding tazers subdued several protesters as police squeezed the group towards Citadel Hill, witnesses say.
The incident occurred at around 5:30 p.m. after protesters walked up Brunswick Street.
A line of police officers began pushing protesters north towards stairs leading to the clock on Citadel Hill.
Jenn Simms, 21, said she was standing on the wall overlooking the Metro Centre when she saw an officer about eight metres away fire a tazer at a man from behind the police line.
“It knocked one guy to the ground,” said Simms.
But police couldn’t confirm that. “There were tazers among the equipment. Whether it was used, I don’t have a report on that as of yet,” said Halifax Regional Police Sgt. Don Spicer.
Dana Lupic, 21, saw one officer use the stun gun on protesters who were resisting the push of the police line the most. “It seemed to aggravate people more,” he said. “It started getting excessive.”
Lupic said the officer walked up and down behind the line of officers. He would point the gun to about a metre from the target person.
10 people shocked
Lupic estimated 10 people got shocked.
“He was coming along wherever it looked like there were trouble spots.”
Rob Parker, 29, was in the protest group when the police line pushed forward. He said people closest to the officers linked arms and tried not to give ground. Parker said officers used shields to push protesters back.
“I first saw the tazers when they were backing people up,” said Parker.
He retreated up Citadel Hill, where he saw a man and a woman get hit by the stun guns.
“They shook,” he said of the victim’s response to the guns.
“Some of their friends got them and kind of hustled them out.”
dredwood@hfxnews.southam.ca
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