Woman says officer who accused her of assault kicked her during N.S. housing protest

CITYnews halifax \ By The Canadian Press

A 26-year-old woman accused of assaulting police at a Halifax housing protest has denied intentionally kicking officers.

Natasha Danais testified today in Halifax provincial court on one charge of obstruction and three charges of assaulting police during the Aug. 18, 2021, protest.

Municipal workers were attempting to remove a shelter for homeless people in front of the former Halifax public library, and Danais was among the demonstrators Halifax police were pushing out of the way.

Const. Conor Gillam testified Tuesday that Danais had pulled off his medical mask, and two other constables told the court she kicked them while she was lying on her back after toppling through the police line.

But Danais says that she was moving her legs in a bicycle motion while she was on the ground because she was anxious at being stuck again by Const. Chris DeLong.

She says that before she fell through the police line DeLong had kicked her hard and grabbed her throat.