While earlier in the day they suspended one of their own officers, Peel Regional Police on Monday night were bringing in extra firepower to shut down a heated protest that allegedly included some armed individuals.
Saying they spotted “weapons” in the crowd, Peel police deployed their public order unit and asked residents to stay out of The Gore Rd.-Tyler Ave. area just before 10 p.m.
“This is now an unlawful assembly and we will be clearing the area,” Peel police said in a public safety alert posted to social media. “All individuals are to disperse immediately or face arrest.”
Sources told the Sun that all off-duty public order officers with Toronto Police were also being sent to Brampton immediately.
In response to a violent incident involving Sikh protesters at their temple on Sunday, hundreds of Hindu Canadians took to the streets of Brampton, but were headed off from marching to a Sikh place of worship by Peel police.
Traffic was diverted and police, who were out in large numbers, closed roadways in response to what was a tense situation.
It was the latest development in the Sikh-Hindu conflict. Police tried to keep the two groups away from each other after more Khalistan backers returned to the temple a day after the violent clash.
Upset at seeing his city overtaken by heated religious protests, Brampton Mayor Patrick Brown called for calm Monday night from all sides of the conflict. Brown asked them to leave their disagreements behind in India and not settle scores in Canada.
“We don’t need this hideousness in Canada,” Brown told the Toronto Sun. “Agitators on both sides need to be arrested and charged for the violence they are trying to incite.”
“We must be better than this in Canada … religious freedom is a foundational value in Canada and we can’t have faith communities intimidating and harassing each other. To be blunt, if you don’t support religious freedom — then go back home, Canada isn’t for you.”