Confidential police documents taken in Caledonia fracas

CBC News: http://www.cbc.ca/news
Last Updated Tue, 13 Jun 2006 09:53:11 EDT

[SISIS note: The following mainstream news article is provided for reference only, as an example of how mainstream media treats indigenous resistance to genocide. Mainstream media often presents biased and distorted information, lacking pertinent facts and/or context. Inclusion of this article on our site should not be considered an endorsement by SISIS.]

Ontario Provincial Police are trying to recover copies of internal documents that were taken during an altercation with native protesters at Caledonia late last week.

The documents contain classified police information about the OPP operation to deal with the native-led occupation at a housing development near Caledonia as well as confidential information from informants and the identity of undercover officers, including names and home phone numbers.

The documents were taken from a vehicle carrying U.S. Border Patrol officers who were visiting the area to observe how provincial police were handling the standoff. The car was swarmed by a group of protesters who pulled the Border Patrol officers from the car, then drove off with it.

The original documents were later returned to police, but not before photocopies had been made, police believe.

The altercation with officers was just one in a series of violent incidents that broke out Friday at the construction site for the Douglas Creek Estates, which has been occupied since Feb. 28 by Six Nations protesters from the Grand River Territory reserve near Brantford. The protesters claim the subdivision is being built on land that belongs to them under a historical treaty.

Seven suspects are being sought on charges that include attempted murder, assault, forcible confinement, motor vehicle theft, robbery, intimidation and assault causing bodily harm.

In one incident, demonstrators surrounded the car of an elderly couple. Later that day, two camera operators from Hamilton-based CH television station alleged that native protesters attacked them and demanded their video footage as they tried to talk to the couple.

In the wake of the clashes, Premier Dalton McGuinty issued an ultimatum to protesters calling for them to remove the barricades or the province would stop all talks about the disputed land claim.

In response, one barricade was removed Monday. Large machinery was brought in overnight to remove tires and tangled metal from a barricade set up on the Highway 6 bypass, a major trucking route which has been blocked since April 20.

Another barrier remained in place at the Douglas Creek Estates housing development.