Hear that deafening silence coming from the Canadian nationalists on this one?
Ontario police seek arrest warrants after Caledonia violence
Canadian Press
Caledonia — Police are looking for seven people who face several charges, including attempted murder, assault and forcible confinement, after a string of violent clashes at the scene of a long-standing aboriginal blockade in southern Ontario.
An Ontario Provincial Police officer suffered serious injuries Friday after angry aboriginal protesters surrounded a U.S. Border Patrol vehicle and dragged out its three occupants.
The injured officer was pulled out of the path of the stolen vehicle as it was driven deliberately at him, OPP Constable Doug Graham said Saturday.
"They were forcibly removed after they were swarmed," Constable Graham said.
Constable Graham said the officer was treated and released. The stolen vehicle was recovered but no arrests were made.
Other charges police expect to lay include theft of a motor vehicle, robbery, intimidation and assault causing bodily harm.
The incident was just one of several altercations with protesters on Friday.
Several hundred angry residents of Caledonia confronted police in full riot gear to protest police inaction after two CH-TV news cameramen were injured in a scuffle with angry protesters. One of the victims, who needed stitches to close a head wound, said police officers were nearby, but took no action during the attack.
Police say they will also be laying charges in relation to an incident Friday involving an elderly couple whose car was surrounded by protesters. The man in the car, who suffers from a heart condition, was taken to hospital for observation, but no one was injured, police said.
The rash of violence was just the latest flashpoint in the clash, which is now more than 100 days old.
A blockade was erected more than three months ago as protesters from the nearby Six Nations reserve took over a housing development they say was being built on land they have claimed as their own.
In announcing the warrants on Saturday, deputy OPP commissioner Maurice Pilon said his greatest fear was that someone would be hurt over the course of the standoff.
"Unfortunately that has occurred," Mr. Pilon said. "And I don't think that's acceptable."
Premier Dalton McGuinty said Friday he's angry about the way some people at the blockade are behaving, and said he hopes they don't destroy efforts to find a peaceful resolution to the dispute.
Critics are blaming the legacy of the Ipperwash standoff, where aboriginal protester Dudley George was killed by a police bullet in 1995, for the reluctance of police to crack down on unruly protesters.
Categories: Kanenhstaton-Reclamation
But why is the US Border Patrol there? This is a disagreement between Canadians right?
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