Police have reminded the public to abide by the laws governing protests, after a demonstration against new immigration policies disrupted early morning traffic into Hamilton.

Michael DeSilva, the Commissioner of Police, said that the demonstration had placed officers in a difficult position.

Mr DeSilva apologised to commuters over the incident and said the police service was looking into submitting a file on the incident to the Director of Public Prosecutions.

A full statement follows:

“Members of the public will be aware of protest activity that took place this morning. Around 6:30am approximately 30 persons gathered near the junction of East Broadway and Lane Hill and commenced a protest. Police officers arrived shortly after and were immediately concerned that the protesters were standing across the road and had blocked both lanes entering the City of Hamilton. The police spoke with the organisers and urged them to move to the sidewalk for their own safety and to allow the free flow of traffic. The protesters did not co-operate with the police who resorted to directing traffic around the protesters for their safety. Police continued the effort to move the protesters to the safety of the sidewalk until around 8:15am when the persons eventually moved out of the road. The police then worked to relieve several traffic jams that had resulted and eventually traffic flow resumed normally, sometime after 9:00am.

“I would like to apologise for the significant inconvenience that was caused to many road users this morning who were made late by this incident. I would also like to thank the many members of the public who exercised patience and supported the efforts of the police to navigate through this spontaneous protest.

“I also want to remind the public that we circulated a notice last month advising on the correct procedure to obtain permission for a public procession under the Public Order Act. Any protest that takes place in a public street must have a permit issued from the Deputy Governor’s office and all directions from the police must be complied with. That was not the case this morning and some of the behaviours demonstrated may constitute the offences of unlawful assembly or obstruction. Accordingly, we are preparing a file for submission to the Director of Public Prosecutions to decide whether any charges should be laid.

“The Bermuda Police Service is alive to the issues that are being passionately discussed in the community. We respect and uphold the constitutional rights of everyone to free speech, and to gather and peacefully protest. But we remind protesters and organisers that their actions must be lawful and they must not intrude on the rights of others. The protest this morning caused significant and unnecessary disruption to the free movement of the general public, and it placed the police in the untenable position of being caught in the middle.

“Whether a protest is about pathways to status, same sex marriage or furlough days, the police do not hold any views on the merits of the debate. Our job is not to take a position on the issue. Rather, we are mandated to maintain peace and good order and facilitate the exercise of democratic rights to protest peacefully and lawfully. And where we must intervene, our policy is to use the least intrusive and coercive law enforcement measures possible to resolve conflict. It does no community any good for the police to use heavy-handed tactics to address protesters over issues that are already emotionally charged to begin with.

“This is of course the reason why there are laws that govern protests, and that is why the public must follow the rules: so that the police are not caught in the middle of protesters who have a right to protest and other members of the public who have the right to move about freely. These rules are in place to keep both protesters and other members of the public safe. I encourage anyone who is organising any other similar activities to contact our Operational Planning Officer at Hamilton Police Station where we will be happy to assist with planning and permits, where they are required, in order to avoid the potential of running afoul with the law.”