Arrested Caledonia Natives Not Suspected In Home Builder’s Beating
Posted September 20, 2007 12:00 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
It now appears the nine native protestors arrested at a controversial land dispute in Caledonia aren’t suspected of assaulting a local developer. After months of inaction, the OPP moved into an area where the attack took place last week and rounded up the demonstrators. Police say those carted off to jail were offered the choice of leaving the property or being detained. None choose the easier option.
The natives have been embroiled in a protest over the rights to the land since first setting up barriers in February 2006. There have been many skirmishes during that time, but an uneasy peace had descended on the area as the dispute dragged on for more than a year.
That changed last week, when builder Sal Gualtieri was found badly beaten and unconscious inside one of the homes he was building on the site. Police had originally refused to say if the arrests were connected to that incident, but the charges laid indicate they weren’t. All of those held are facing mischief accusations, while one is also being hit with possession of a prohibited weapon count, another had a charge of assaulting police added and a third was wanted on a previous warrant.
But there are no charges that would indicate cops suspect they had anything to do with the Gualtieri beating. All the accused appeared in a Cayuga courtroom on Thursday.
Some long suffering residents of the Hamilton-area town cheered as the police moved in. They’ve faced roadblocks and disruptions for months and have accused the OPP of letting the natives get away with openly breaking the law while the government does nothing. But the day after the raid, many are rethinking their reaction, accusing Queen’s Park of staging the arrests now as a cynical election ploy. Ontarians go to the polls on October 10th.
