Calgary police officer.Nick Motycka says he’s disgusted the way officers are being used by politicians at the Truckers Freedom Convoy in Ottawa..Motycka, a 10-year veteran with the Calgary Police Service (CPS), made the comment in a social media post while dressed in plain clothes..“Today was a hard day for me. Something was taken away from me that I can never get back,” said Motycka — who also served with the RCMP for six years previously..Motycka said watching Ottawa police seizing fuel from peaceful protesters “took away a long-held belief that I thought to be a lasting truth.”.“What I saw was the police doing politicians dirty work like hired goons,” said Motycka..“This goes against every reason why I chose this mostly thankless, difficult, traumatizing career with terrible hours.”.Motycka said he became an officer to help people but said as the years wore on, he became jaded but said he never let anything compromise his integrity..He said he always applied the front page of the newspaper test, and in all situations would ask himself, “Would I be okay with whatever I was about to do being on the front page of the paper, or a news story in your feed for younger viewers?”.“What is happening in Ottawa, with the clearly political influence on the police to physically exert political will on peaceful protesters for nothing more than possible political gain, is so very wrong on so many levels,” said Motycka..Motycka said the statement, “I was just following orders,” is no longer an excuse for his fellow officers..“It is time to stand up and speak out by refusing to breach your fellow citizens’ fundamental charter rights,” said Motycka..“You signed up to help people. Stand with your fellow Canadians and say enough is enough..“There is no doubt that we are all part of history right now. I have one question for you: which side do you want to be on?”.CPS spokeswoman Emma Poole said Motycka is, “currently off on an unrelated leave,” and confirmed the CPS is aware of the officer’s video and is investigating whether the video breaches the CPS Code of Conduct in any way..Melanie Risdon is a reporter with the Western Standard.,.mrisdon@westernstandardonline.com
