Two officers with the Windsor Police Service (WPS) are facing misconduct charges for allegedly donating money to the Freedom Convoy, a large-scale protest against federal COVID-19 vaccine mandates in Ottawa earlier this year.
The charges against constables Jason Michael Brisco and Brooke Fazekas fall under the Ontario Police Services Act, the WPS
said on Sept. 20. A third civilian employee has been suspended without pay for a day, also over allegations of donating to the convoy.
The Freedom Convoy, which began on Jan. 29 and ended on Feb. 20, started out as a demonstration by truckers opposing federal
COVID-19 vaccine mandates for cross-border travel. It grew exponentially when supporters from across the country joined in to call for an end to all pandemic-related mandates.
The
Windsor protest—which took place at the Ambassador Bridge, a crossing that connects Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Michigan—stood in solidarity with the truckers protesting in downtown Ottawa at the time.
Frank Providenti, deputy chief of operational support for Windsor police, says the service condemns the alleged donations made by the officers and the other employee. In a statement to The Epoch Times, he alleges that the donations were made in support of the Windsor protest.
“We hold our members to the highest standards of conduct and those who fail to maintain those principles must be held accountable for their behaviour,” Providenti said.
“By choosing to support an illegal blockade at our country’s busiest border crossing, these members demonstrated a complete disregard for our city’s economy and reputation as well as for the safety of their own colleagues who were dealing with the volatile situation.”
‘The World Is Watching’
Brisco’s and Fazekas’ names allegedly appeared on a
convoy donor list that was made public after crowdfunding site GiveSendGo was
hacked in February.
In an email to CBC News, Brisco said he made a $50 donation on Feb. 8 to convoy organizer Tamara Lich for the protest in Ottawa.
“The donation was made to protest vaccine mandates, which personally affected me and my family. I empathized with the protesters in Ottawa, who also lost their jobs and their ability to support their family,” said Brisco in the email.
Brisco wrote that he was laid off without pay or benefits at the time of his donation. In addition, he said he believed the protest was legal due to an injunction granted by the Ontario Superior Court on Feb. 7 that
stopped truckers from honking for 10 days.
According to the leaked list of donors, Brisco had commented “Officers for freedom” with his donation.
“Thank you fellow Canadians for fighting for freedom at the base of Sauron’s Tower. The world is watching... and we see [Prime Minister Justin] Trudeau’s true colours,” he added.
Trudeau
characterized the Freedom Convoy as sporting “Nazi symbolism” and “racist imagery”—a charge the convoy organizers rejected, saying they are diverse Canadians asking for the upholding of freedoms.
Going after officers who donated to the convoy was also seen in the Ottawa Police Service, where constable
Kristina Neilson had a disciplinary hearing on Sept. 15, facing a misconduct charge under the Police Services Act.
