Toronto police responded to a now-viral video showing officers handing coffee to an anti-Israel protester during a recent demonstration.
The video, initially shared on X by lawyer and investigative journalist Caryma Sa’d, shows a Toronto police officer carrying a box of Tim Hortons coffee and mugs and handing them to protesters.
The recipient, dressed in Palestinian clothing, explains that the delivery was not sent by the police, but by someone else who bought the coffee for protesters attempting to hold an anti-Israel demonstration on a highway overpass. “But the police won’t let them in, so now the police are becoming our little messengers to each other,” the man says.
The clip received an avalanche of condemnation online from critics who alleged preferential treatment by police of those protesting against Israel, in contrast to how Canadian law enforcement has cracked down in the past against the “Convoy of the Freedom” by truckers protesting COVID-19 mandates, as well as some pro-life demonstrations.
Toronto Police Service spokesperson Laurie McCann, contacted by Fox News Digital on Sunday, said: “With regard to the coffee stand at X, our officers are handling a dynamic situation.”
“Their top priority is maintaining order in a tense environment on the Avenue Road Bridge,” McCann said in an email. “By performing an act of relief yesterday, our officer’s motivation was to help keep tensions down and should not be construed as a show of support for any cause or group.”
“Our officers continue to work to de-escalate these protests and keep the public calm and safe,” McCann added.
A Toronto police officer carried a box of coffee and cups from Tim Hortons and handed them to protesters. @CarymaRules The recipient explains that the delivery was not sent by the police, but by someone else who bought the coffee for protesters trying to hold an anti-Israel demonstration on a highway overpass. @CarymaRules
The @LibsofTikTok account amplified the video viewed more than 1 million times on police”.
In a post to his nearly 428,000 followers, Rebel News editor Ezra Levant wrote: “@TorontoPolice gives coffee and donuts to Hamas supporters. @OttawaPolice is hiding the identity of anti-Semitic hate criminals. “Both have been colonized by awakened and dangerous partisans.”
The video comes as Toronto police are investigating a fire and graffiti at a Jewish-owned grocery store as a possible hate crime.
The business, International Delicatessen Foods, on Steeles Avenue West near Petrolia Road, had the message “Free Palestine” spray painted outside, CBC reported.
The clip received an avalanche of condemnation online from critics who alleged preferential treatment by police of those protesting against Israel. Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu via Getty Images
Toronto police confirmed to Fox News Digital that the incident remains under investigation as of Sunday.
In addition to the Toronto cafe video, Levant responded to a news release on Friday announcing that the Ottawa Police Service’s Hate and Bias Crimes Unit charged an individual following a “series of property damage incidents in the downtown area in December.”
The police statement omitted the name of the suspect.
“In the evening hours of December 22, the individual spray painted a series of anti-Semitic symbols and other hateful messages in multiple locations throughout downtown and the Golden Triangle. A 34-year-old Ottawa man has been identified and charged with 18 counts of property damage. He is expected to appear in court today,” the statement read.
Toronto police confirmed to Fox News Digital that the incident remains under investigation as of Sunday. Mert Alper Dervis/Anadolu via Getty Images
Another critic, lawyer Ryan O’Connor, shared screenshots of posts from another Toronto Police Service employee who initially defended the video, saying officers handled a “dynamic situation.”
“So after a Toronto police spokeswoman, who defended police providing taxpayer-funded coffee to protesters blocking a highway bridge and the entrance to a Jewish neighborhood on the Sabbath, came under fire online , she just deleted her Twitter account,” O’Connor said.
“Toronto Police: If you block a highway bridge containing 1 of only 3 entrances to a neighborhood full of Jews, on the Sabbath, you can expect not to be arrested, but rather to get some taxpayer-funded coffee for your efforts.” ” O’ Connor had written earlier, initially reacting to the video.
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Source: vtt.edu.vn