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Pepper spray victims to meet at BIU

A protester wipes her eyes after being pepper sprayed by police outside the House of Assembly (Photograph by Akil Simmons)

Demonstrators pepper-sprayed at protests outside Parliament last December will meet tomorrow at the headquarters of the Bermuda Industrial Union.

A BIU statement posted online said the 4pm gathering at the union’s Hamilton headquarters was “very important”, and aimed at updating victims “on the way forward”.

The meeting comes after an investigation by the Police Complaints Authority, which in August found that there was “no question that mistakes were made” in the senior ranks of the Bermuda Police Service — but that individual officers were not guilty of misconduct.

Demonstrators blocked the gates to Parliament in a bid to block a House of Assembly debate on legislation designed to set up a public-private partnership with a Canadian corporation to build and run a new airport.

The disturbances that followed generated 26 complaints against police after protesters clashed with officers who tried to open the way for MPs.

Police said that 14 officers were assaulted during the stand-off.

The Progressive Labour Party government’s Throne Speech in September included a pledge for changes to the Police Complaints Authority to boost public confidence.

For further information, contact LaVerne Furbert at the BIU.