Ottawa police have been asked to investigate how provincial police officers responded to an attack at a site near Caledonia occupied by native protesters.
Ontario Provincial Police Commissioner Gwen Boniface announced Monday that the Ottawa Police Services will look into an incident involving two Hamilton TV camera operators at the site of the native land-claims dispute in the southern Ontario town.
Two camera operators from Hamilton-based CH Television were trying to talk to a couple outside a store on June 9 when they say native protesters attacked them, demanding their video footage. The camera operators were trying to speak to the elderly couple because their vehicle had just been swarmed.
One operator was treated for cuts to his head that required stitches and the other suffered minor injuries after he was kicked and punched. Police have since charged two men with assault.
At issue is how the police reacted to the assault. The camera operators claim police officers standing nearby did nothing to stop the attack.
The attack was one of a series of violent incidents that took place on June 9. On the same day, a police vehicle was stolen and then used in an alleged attempt to run down an officer, who was injured.
Aboriginal protesters have occupied the Douglas Creek Estates land development since late February, claiming the government wrongly took the land from them.