A member of an anti-logging group that shut down a Highway 1 off-ramp in Burnaby last week is taking issue with the Burnaby RCMP’s description of the protesters’ behaviour.
The RCMP put out a news release on Jan. 10, saying three people had been arrested at the westbound Willingdon Avenue off-ramp.
Police said a group of about a dozen demonstrators had blocked the off-ramp at about 7:45 a.m., creating a significant backup on Highway 1.
Police also said there had been “reports that one person had climbed onto the hood of a vehicle that had been forcibly stopped on the off-ramp.”
The demonstration was one of a number of blockades orchestrated by Save Old Growth, a group committed to stopping old growth logging.
Laura Jeffries, who is with the group and was taking photos at the Burnaby protest, said the organization is “fiercely non-violent,” but Burnaby RCMP has portrayed it as “violent and aggressive” by suggesting a protester climbed onto the hood of a car.
“The RCMP have been known to lie quite a bit to get the public and the media to believe the narrative that serves them best,” Jeffries wrote to the NOW in an email.
Jeffries sent a video taken at the Willingdon demonstration.
It shows a white car attempting to continue driving despite protesters stepping in front of it.
At one point, two protesters put their hands onto the car and one briefly lies on the hood before it backs up.
Jeffries said she witnessed the whole protest and that’s as close as anyone got to climbing onto the hood of a car.
Burnaby RCMP spokesperson Mike Kalanj later clarified the motorist who called in the complaint reported that a demonstrator had lain on the hood of his vehicle not “climbed” onto it.
He said the investigation into the incident is ongoing and “there’s still more information coming in.”
Save Old Growth has vowed to block Highway 1 off-ramps every week until old growth logging stops.
On Thursday, the group disrupted traffic at the intersection of the Cassiar Connector and Hastings Street, resulting in four arrests.
Follow Cornelia Naylor on Twitter @CorNaylor
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