Halifax police board to review how shelter evictions, protest were handled

Halifax's police oversight board has ordered a review into how Halifax Regional Police responded during protests around the eviction of people from homeless camps in the city nearly two years ago. 

The Board of Police Commissioners announced during a meeting Wednesday that it has hired Toronto law firm Cooper, Sandler, Shime & Schwartzentruber to handle the review for $250,000.

"It certainly is my hope, and the commission's hope, that it would repair trust. There's clearly trust to be repaired," Coun. Becky Kent, the board's chair, told reporters after the meeting.

"I'm not saying it's going to happen overnight, but at the end of the day, it's doing the right thing, and if the public see that as something they want, then they'll decide whether or not they trust."

During the protest on Aug.18, 2021, hundreds of people gathered on Spring Garden Road in downtown Halifax to block the removal of tents and small shelters. Halifax Regional Police used pepper spray, and paramedics treated at least 21 people at the scene.

Four people, including one in court this week, are still facing charges of obstructing police and similar actions.

According to a statement from Kent Wednesday, the review will examine the board's oversight and governance when it comes to policy responsibilities of Halifax police, and how the force's own policies and rules played into the event.

Some topics of the review will include the appropriateness of Halifax police's priorities and goals on the removal of unhoused people from public spaces, and how adequate the existing policies are for de-escalating "potentially confrontational situations" while still addressing the safety of the public and those in crisis shelters.

It will also cover whether the current policies are enough to address the use of force — including pepper spray — and prevent its "disproportionate use" around these types of police actions.

After the report is produced, the police board said they will develop a strategic plan to address any issues or recommendations identified.

The commission voted to hold an independent review in October 2021 following public outcry, but Kent said until now, the board hasn't had the funds to order something of this scale.

She said the fact that Halifax regional council approved the funds for this review under the latest 2023-24 budget is a show of support for the public's interest in how things happened the way they did.

Kent added this is just the latest step in how the board is hoping to strengthen police oversight in the city in light of many reports calling for it, including most recently the Mass Casualty Commission and a review of Halifax's dual-policing model with Nova Scotia RCMP.

"We know we can do better. We know that council has said the same, around the unfolding of those events, that we were all disappointed that this has happened — we never want to see that happen again," Kent said.

Although negotiations for who would lead the review happened in private, Kent said Cooper, Sandler, Shime & Schwartzentruber have a long history of this work, including civilian reviews of a number of police services.

"They were the best fit for what we want to do," Kent said.

The review is set to begin on June 1 and a final report is expected by May 31, 2024.

The board said the law firm handling the review will also establish a website to handle outreach and engagement with the public.