2.3 Arrested at a Protest
The scenario
You are a member of a school group visiting Ottawa to visit the Parliament Buildings. You hear that there will be a protest happening one morning and you and a couple of friends decide to witness it - against the express wishes of your teachers.
As the situation gets tense, some protesters begin throwing objects at the police. You and your friends retreat, but somehow an Ottawa police officer mistakes you for someone who threw an object. He puts a pair of plastic handcuffs on you and tells you that you are being arrested for unlawful assembly which you can read about below.
Unlawful assembly – this is most common when protests involve violent clashes with police. Unlawful assembly occurs when a group of three or more people give others nearby good reasons to worry that the group will cause a disturbance that includes violence against people or property, or motivate others to cause a disturbance that includes violence. Unlawful assembly can be punished by six months in prison or a $5,000 fine. If you are wearing a disguise, the prison sentence could increase to five years.
From PEN Canada - Canadians right to protest
Imagine that you are the man below (this man was an arrested protester at the G-20 summit).
Explain how your understanding of police in Canada and arrest procedures might help you in a situation such as this starting with how you would behave as soon as you realized that you were being placed under arrest.
Assume all of the following:
- You recently turned 18
- You have never had any run-ins with the law
- You are brought to a police station and detained with others.
- You are able to contact your friends and teachers
- As long as you don't cause any problems, you are released later that day without incident.
You will write this as a multi-paragraph response.