Police charge organizer of Tuesday’s anti-COVID restriction rally

The other ticket issued is for a violation of the City of Lethbridge Bylaw 5651, Section 6 (assembly without a permit), which comes with a fine of $300.

Lethbridge Police Service (LPS) Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh explained why the organizer was the only person charged in relation to the event, as opposed to also charging each individual participant.

He stated that LPS strives to avoid taking a ‘heavy-handed approach’ when dealing with events such as the one that took place Tuesday, instead focusing on a more ‘balanced approach’ to enforcement.

“To try t charge everyone, that’s certainly an option that we have, but we choose not to use that option because that’s not the right way in our opinion,” Mehdizadeh said.

“In this case, if the organizer hadn’t organized this event, there wouldn’t [have been] any people putting themselves and other people at risk.”

The ticket was issued following the rally, and the Chief said police avoided handing out tickets at the event itself to prevent any potential violence.

“If we start doing enforcement actions at times when there are rallies, it may result in things getting out of hand, an increasing level of violence and more risks to the public,” he stated.

“We try to, again, have a balanced approach – how we enforce things, when we enforce things, who to enforce it on and we basically have to do it in a calculated, balanced way to make sure, first of all people are safe and things don’t get out of hand, and it’s still sending a message.”

LPS Chief Shahin Mehdizadeh speaking with reporters on Thursday, Jan. 14 2020 (Lethbridge News Now)

Tuesday’s rally was not the first seen in Lethbridge, and Mehdizadeh noted each circumstance is different.

“It’s all a matter of how they’re going about presenting,” he said.

“There are times that they’re still protesting, but [attendees are] more respectful to these [measures] as far as social distancing and how they are going about sending the message out. We have to look at all those angles…and we have to look at what we can do to protect the majority of our citizens.”

He said come any future rallies in the city, charges might or may not be laid. It just depends on how organizers set up the event and if participants follow social distancing rules and other COVID-related protocols in place.

“We have to be respectful of everyone. We certainly want to be respectful of peoples’ rights to provide this information and get such issues out in the public. However, they have to do it in a respectful way for other citizens who should not be put in harm’s way,” the Chief commented.

“I come back to it – why wasn’t everyone charged? Because we didn’t see a reason why we had to charge everyone but we still have to send a message that this is not the right way of going about doing things. People are dying every day, so we’re just trying to protect the public.”

Mehdizadeh said as far as LPS knows, no permit was given for Tuesday’s event.

“We try to provide education and awareness to them [rally attendees] about how these actions are potentially harming the community and putting people at risk, but at some point, it takes some enforcement actions to really send that message home.”

Mehdizadeh admitted he doesn’t enjoy wearing a mask and social distancing can be challenging, but the health protocols must be followed to ensure the safety of everyone in the community.

“I have to do my part as a citizen to make sure other people are protected and they’re safe,” he said.

“The sooner we work together as a community and as citizens to hopefully bring the numbers down and get some level of control on this virus, the sooner all the businesses can get back and actually get on with their daily life and businesses.”

Mehdizadeh said events such as the one that took place Tuesday could potentially increase COVID case numbers.

“[That] brings more protocols and guidelines that we need to adhere to,” he said.

“Our position has always been the same – let’s work together so we can all get back to our normal lives.”

As an aside, Mehdizadeh said LPS has not charged any other businesses with contravening public health orders.

On Monday, police reported that a local business was given a notice to appear in court after opening against current restrictions in place.

READ MORE: Police charge Lethbridge business with ‘contravening public health order’

In responding to any COVID-related calls, Mehdizadeh reiterated that police always want to take a ‘balanced approach’ to ensure the rights of residents are protected and members of the community are ‘provided with the safety they deserve’.

by Justin Goulet

Police charge organizer of Tuesday’s anti-COVID restriction rally

What's Happening