Cops posing as journalists “highly disturbing”

The CBC and other media observers are concerned about an undercover police tactic that puts officers at a scene in the guise of journalists.

At a Mohawk protest at last year’s Aboriginal Day of Action in eastern Ontario, Const. Steve Martell was shooting video of the protest while undercover as  a journalist. If asked, he said he was freelancing for UPA, a fictitious news organization.

J-Source contributing editor and Ryerson professor John Miller said the tactic is “highly disturbing.” He told the CBC:

“That’s going to make it more difficult for legitimate media to get interviews with the people at the centre of a dispute.”

The CBC and the Canadian Association of Journalists are calling for police forces across the country to stop going undercover as journalists.