RCMP watchdog gets over 70 complaints on enforcement at Fairy Creek blockades

The federal agency that holds RCMP to account has received a total of 73 public complaints associated with enforcement measures at the Fairy Creek old-growth logging blockades in British Columbia, says the legal team representing the activist group.

Counsel for the Rainforest Flying Squad (RFS) — the group behind the protests — received confirmation from the Civilian Review and Complaints Commission (CRCC) about the number of complaints received as of Monday, said lawyer Phil Dwyer.

To date, 17 complaints fall under the agency’s mandate and will be investigated, Dwyer said Wednesday afternoon.

News of the complaints comes days after videos showing RCMP using pepper spray against Fairy Creek old-growth protesters during a confrontation over the weekend surfaced on the internet.

And as a result, B.C.’s NDP government is taking fire from civil rights advocates while federal counterparts are calling for a public inquiry into police actions.

RCMP tactics and the use of force are increasingly aggressive, according to activists involved in the year-long civil disobedience movement in the Port Renfrew region, said Dwyer, who represents three RFS defendants named in the court injunction filed by Teal-Jones logging company.

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