Charges Dropped Against Elderly Man Who Was Arrested and Charged for Honking His Horn During the Freedom Convoy Protest in Ottawa.

The Canadian Independent spoke with Criminal Defence Attorney David Anber, who represented Gerald Charlebois, the nearly 80-year-old elderly man who was arrested by police in a video that went viral during the Freedom Convoy protest in Ottawa.

According to Anber, Charlebois was stopped by Ottawa Police for "allegedly honking his horn." This act had been prohibited at the time due to a temporary injunction issued by a judge. The injunction was in response to trucks affiliated with the Freedom Convoy that had parked their vehicles in Ottawa's downtown core, continuously blaring their horns.

The video of Mr. Charlebois' arrest garnered significant attention in February 2022. In the footage, a bystander can be heard advising the elderly man not to answer the police's questions. A few minutes later, the same individual instructs Charlebois not to surrender his driver's license. Charlebois then informs the officer that he is not going to provide his driver's license and is subsequently placed under arrest, fined, and charged $118 for 'unnecessary noise.'

Anber says that this charge was likely dropped because "Failing to provide your driver's licence is not an arrestable offence." Anber cited a court of appeal case, R. v. Plummer, to support this argument.

Anber stated that "if a person fails to give a driver's licence, the police officer must ask the person to identify him or herself verbally, and - assuming no issue with the truthfulness of that verbal ID - the officer may not arrest the person."

Anber mentioned that the crown did not specify why they dropped the charge against Charlebois but suggested it was likely because "they had no reasonable prospect of conviction in light of the unlawful arrest and the lengthy delay in bringing the matter before the Courts."

As a result of his arrest, Mr. Charlebois sustained several bruises and cuts to his hands, wrists, and knee area. When asked about the potential of a civil suit against the Ottawa Police over Charlebois' arrest, his attorney responded, "Mr. Charlebois may have a civil remedy available to him against the police, and I don't deal with civil suits."