Canadian Police Really Wish You Didn’t See This Photo of Them

A branch of Canada’s federal police force wants the public to know they’re not affiliated with a “freedom fighters” group after two officers—one of them wearing the banned “thin blue line” patch—were seen in a chummy photograph at a field party. 

Nova Scotia RCMP felt the need to address a photo, taken on October 8, that has been making the rounds online. And in providing the “accurate context of the situation,” police have revealed a number of bizarre details in explaining how such a photo could come to be. 

In a press release RCMP say that the two Annapolis District RCMP officers went to a property because of a noise complaint and found a field party going on. The party was being put on by the Nova Scotia chapter of Freedom Fighters Veterans and Guardians, a pretty standard anti-government club with ties to the convoy movement. The party was purportedly to raise money for a charity supporting veteran PTSD. 

Police say there were about 50 people in attendance at the party and the officers were immediately approached by a large group of men upon their arrival who “told them police were not welcome in the area.” The RCMP say the officers felt the need to “deescalate” the situation and turned to the group’s president for help. 

“When the RCMP officers went to leave, one man stated that police didn’t pay the $5 entry fee which was quickly seconded by another and followed by individuals who were surrounding the officers,” reads the release. “To keep the situation diffused and avoid the potential for violence, the entry fee was paid with the RCMP officer’s personal funds. The RCMP is not affiliated with the “Freedom Fighters” group.”

“The officers agreed to a photo at the men's requests, again in an effort to mitigate an escalation of the situation.”

Nova Scotia RCMP offered their “appreciation to the man who was identified as the president.”

The photo, which shows two officers with three other men—one of them holding a $5 bill—was shared by the freedom fighters group the next day in a post celebrating their event. Multiple people on social media, who said they were at the event, disputed the RCMP’s account of what occurred and claimed the officers seemed happy to be there. VICE News reached out to Freedom Fighters Veterans and Guardians for comment and to see if they disputed how the RCMP construed the incident but did not receive a response by the time of publication. 

In the photo, one of the officers is wearing a thin blue line patch on his uniform. The patch is connected to the Blue Lives Matter movement which equates attacks on police officers to hate crimes. The patch has been connected to far-right groups in the past and the RCMP banned their officers from wearing it in 2020.

“The officer has since removed the patch from his uniform and this has been addressed by his supervisor,” reads the release.

VICE News reached out to Nova Scotia RCMP for comment but did not hear back by the time of publication.