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Montreal mayor, police chief say masks will delay arrests after violent protest

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Montreal’s mayor and police chief both say it will take time to arrest everyone who smashed windows and burned cars during a demonstration outside a NATO conference on Friday evening since most of them had their faces covered.

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Police have so far arrested three people in connection with Friday’s protest and police Chief Fady Dagher says there will be more arrests.

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In a radio interview on Monday, Dagher said police used to be able to intercept masked protesters before they could do any damage thanks to a bylaw that prohibited the use of masks during demonstrations.

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But that bylaw was repealed in 2019 after a Quebec Superior Court found the ban was unconstitutional and Dagher says police now have to wait to intervene until a person commits a crime.

Montreal Mayor Valerie Plante, whose administration repealed the bylaw, says she sympathizes with police officers who are having trouble identifying the protesters.

But Benoit Allard, a spokesperson for one of the groups that organized Friday’s demonstration, says peaceful protesters often wear masks to protect themselves from being targeted by police.

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