Ottawa Police are investigating a small number of officers who may have supported the "Freedom Convoy" trucker protests that paralyzed the Canadian capital last month.
"We started investigations into individuals who may have been involved," Ottawa’s Interim Police Chief Steve Bell told Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (CBC) on Thursday. "Those will continue. I think it's really important to note that it's a very, very small number."
According to the CBC, a data breach last month identified thousands of people who had donated to the "Freedom Convoy" through the crowdfunding platform GiveSendGo.
An investigation last week by the broadcaster identified 24 current and former officers with both Ontario Police and Ottawa Police who allegedly donated to the protesters.
The CBC reports that both Toronto and Ontario Police launched internal investigations into officers who may have donated to the movement.
Bell told the CBC on Thursday that "we need to deal with the people who supported it."
"There's no room for them, but the vast majority of this organization did everything within their power, in an absolutely professional way, to remove that demonstration from our streets," he said.
Dubbed the "Freedom Convoy," the protests began when Canadian truckers hit the road to protest the COVID-19 vaccine mandate and other coronavirus restrictions in Canada. The flow of goods between Windsor, Ontario, and Detroit, Michigan, was interrupted when convoy vehicles blocked the Ambassador Bridge, shutting it down for nearly a day.
Ottawa was paralyzed by parked big rigs and other vehicles for about three weeks until Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau invoked the National Emergencies Act to have the protesters removed.
"The blockades and occupations are illegal," Trudeau told the Canadian Parliament last month in defense of the National Emergencies Act. "They're a threat to our economy and relationship with trading partners. They are a threat to supply chains and the availability of essential goods, like food and medicine. They're a threat to public safety."
Ottawa Police met with some resistance when they began clearing out the protest area on Feb. 18, with officers later donning riot gear and batons to clear the capital.
The "Freedom Convoy" truckers sparked similar protests worldwide, including in the United States, the U.K., France, the Netherlands, and New Zealand.
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