An officer with the Calgary Police Service (CPS) has said he is disgusted with the actions of the Ottawa Police against peaceful protesters at the Freedom Convoy in Ottawa.
“Watching members of the Ottawa Police Service seize fuel from peaceful protesters took away a long-held belief that I thought to be a lasting truth,” said Nick Motycka in a video posted to YouTube last week. “And that is the police are here when push really comes to shove and to protect and help people.”
Motycka said that he has worked as a police officer with the CPS for about 10 years and served with the RCMP for six years prior.
He said that he will never see policing in the same way again, claiming that what he saw in Ottawa was the police “doing the politicians’ dirty work like hired goons.”
What Ottawa Police were doing, he said, goes against “why I chose this mostly thankless, difficult, traumatizing career with terrible hours.” He added that he became a police officer to help people.
Motycka said that he strove to apply the “front page of the newspaper test” every day he was on duty, which involved asking himself if he would be OK if whatever he was about to do was put on the cover of a newspaper. He said that doing what was right – even when it was tough – was always the right decision.
Motycka said the political influence on Ottawa Police is “so very wrong on so many levels.”
“‘I was just following orders’ is no longer an excuse,” he said. “It is time to stand up and speak out by refusing to breach your fellow citizens’ fundamental Charter rights.”
CPS confirmed to True North that Motycka is an officer with the service.
“We are aware of the matter and are investigating,” said CPS in an email. “The officer is currently on an unrelated leave from the service.”
The Freedom Convoy in Ottawa entered its 24th day on Tuesday.
