CLAIM: Quebec Provincial Police Force de-identified in protest of independence convoy
In February, social media users accused a Canadian provincial police force of evading accountability after several prominent online figures claimed that officers at Freedom Convoy protests in Ottawa had removed identification badges from their uniforms.
The claims were based on a video of officers from the Sorte du Québec, Quebec’s provincial police force, standing side by side in a line to prevent protesters from moving forward. Sorete was called for reinforcements after Ontario provincial police failed to quell the protests, which began as a truck driver-led demonstration against cross-border vaccine restrictions and escalated into a day-long occupation of Ottawa.
A February 20 Instagram post featuring body armor company Hoplight Armor’s video garnered more than 24,000 views in less than three weeks.
“Officers of Justin Trudeau’s SQ (Quebec Provincial Police Service) remove their identifying names and badge numbers from their uniforms in Ottawa,” the text above the video reads in the post.
In its caption to the video, Hoplight Armor slammed the company that allegedly sold anonymous uniforms.
“If the companies refused to sell the gear to these thugs, they would have nothing to torture you,” Page wrote. “Unfortunately, I stand alone in that.”
Unlike this and other posts, which combined have hundreds of thousands of views, the authorities did not remove any IDs. The officers had names and badge numbers on their helmets.
USA Today contacted Hoplight Armor and others who shared the post for comment.
follow us on Facebook! Like our page to get updates on our latest debunks throughout the day
Police ID numbers were on the helmets of officers
The video with claims of police misconduct in the Freedom Convoy is authentic, but it does not show unidentified police.
He was first post By Sean O’Shea, a reporter for the Canadian television outlet Global News, on February 19.
He captioned the tweet “Quebec Police Hold a Line.”
Conservative Influencer Ian Miles Cheong Reposted the video on his Twitter page that day.
“The police are holding themselves accountable to the laws they are supposed to enforce in the suppression of peaceful protests,” he wrote.
His tweet, which was shared by more than 11,000 users on Twitter, became the basis for dozens of reposts of the video.
At first glance, this video confirms this claim. No badge is visible on the SQ’s dark green riot gear. However, the badge identification number of the officers can be seen in a large white print on their black helmets. Photos from Canadian news outlets similarly show officers wearing numbers on their helmets.
These badge numbers are unique, Quebec Soret spokesman Lt. Benoit Richard wrote in an email to USA TODAY. Richard said the officers’ names would be provided to citizens who provided badge numbers to the police board.
“Badge number refers to only one person,” he wrote. “If required the officer’s name can be found from any official instance. For example, a citizen can file a complaint with the police board with the officer’s badge number.”
Richard said officers usually wear badges on their uniforms, not helmets, but “movable parts of the uniform are not worn during protests for security reasons.”
Our Rating: Wrong
Based on our research, we consider the claim to be FALSE that the Quebec Provincial Police Force removed identities in protest of the independence convoy. A spokesman for the police force told USA TODAY that officers are identified on their helmets when they are wearing riot gear. The original version of the video along with the claim shows the badge numbers displayed in large white print on the helmets of the officers.
Our fact-checking sources:
Thank you for supporting our journalism. You can subscribe to our print edition, ad-free app or electronic newspaper facsimile here.
Our fact-check work is partially supported by a grant from Facebook.
