The non-confrontational tactics police used during the G8 demonstrations in Ottawa this week encouraged peaceful protests instead of provoking clashes with demonstrators, the psychologist who advised officers said yesterday.
Michael Webster, a Vancouver consulting psychologist who works for the RCMP, the FBI and the U.S. Secret Service, said the presence of uniformed officers instead of riot police with shields and gas allowed for peaceful protests.
"It was a dance that went on between the activists and the police. This time it was different because both sides got what they wanted," said Mr. Webster, who provided the police with an understanding of crowd dynamics.
"The police have learned that the application of power is paradoxical. The harder you make it for demonstrators to compete with you, the harder you make it for them to co-operate with you, because it looks like they are being defeated. People don't like to look like they are losing or, even worse, accepting defeat."
Mr. Webster said police should make it easy for demonstrators to co-operate with them, instead of relying only on force. The power of the police in Ottawa and Kananaskis, he said, did not come only from their ability to crush demonstrators.
"If you are going to bring out public order units, the people dressed in Darth Vader costumes, all you do is trigger the other side's defences," Mr. Webster said. "It hardens their position and it makes it much more difficult for you to get them to co-operate with you.
"We can start at the lowest level of force, policemen in golf shirts that say 'Liaison Team,' then the appearance of police officers in regular patrol uniforms. There is much less of an intimidation factor here."
Mr. Webster said the police were wise to meet with protesters before the demonstrations -- and should continue to have contact with them to preserve good relations between protests.
However, Lisa Freeman, an organizer of the Take the Capital demonstrations, said police harassed demonstrators.
"Just because they didn't have shields and batons doesn't mean they weren't intimidating us," Ms. Freeman said. "The police filmed many people, followed protesters around and stopped cars to ask for identification."
She said people who put their hands up to block the cameras were pushed by the police, while police also towed away the sound van some protesters had rented and dropped off one protester on a highway in Gatineau.
"This was a completely planned and targeted attack by the police," she said.
RCMP Staff Sgt. Marc Richer said police won't reveal how many officers were needed for the protests or how much the police operation cost, saying officers are concerned about their safety and don't want demonstrators to know those numbers.
Ottawa police Insp. Richard Murphy said "an extraordinary team effort" allowed police to achieve their goal of peaceful demonstrations.
"The Ottawa police conducted themselves with the highest level of professionalism and our primary partners, the RCMP and the Ontario Provincial Police, contributed to every aspect of the operation," he said.
Police services from across Ontario, including officers from Tyendinaga (Mohawk police), Cornwall, Sudbury, Waterloo, York Regional and Brockville, were all involved in policing the demonstrations.
"On Tuesday there was an historic moment when 200 officers and their supervisors from the Sûreté du Québec were sworn in as special constables in Ontario," Insp. Murphy said. "That was the first time in history that we have had police officers from Quebec sworn in on this side of the river."
Insp. Murphy said the demonstrators should be applauded for protesting peacefully while respecting the rights of business people and residents to feel safe in their homes and work places.
But he also said police and demonstrators need to rethink their approach to protests to achieve a "lawful and safe environment."
The G8 demonstrations, he said, showed a new trend toward the "deescalation of violence and effective working relationships based on respect and trust."
"The demonstrations confirm that we all have a role to play in creating a peaceful co-operative environment that respects the rights of everyone involved, the demonstrators, the business community, residents and the police."
FAIR USE NOTICE: This page contains copyrighted material the use of which has not been specifically authorized by the copyright owner. NoNonsense English offers this material non-commercially for research and educational purposes. I believe this constitutes a fair use of any such copyrighted material as provided for in 17 U.S.C § 107. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond fair use, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner, i.e. the media service or newspaper which first published the article online and which is indicated at the top of the article unless otherwise specified.