DC police plan for possible trucker protest

WASHINGTON - D.C. Police will mobilize early next week ahead of a trucker convoy that could be headed to the city.

According to orders sent out to the department and obtained by FOX 5’s Lindsay Watts, officers were alerted this week that no time off will be granted between Feb. 22 and March 5th, and starting Tuesday, specialized units will be activated.

By Wednesday, nearly 500 officers a day will be on civil disturbance platoons.

Over 200 officers will be on traffic support, including officers diverted from the Investigative Services Bureau.

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Multiple police sources worry this will take away crime-fighting resources, pulling detectives to work traffic posts and officers off of patrol.

Neither Mayor Muriel Bowser nor Police Chief Robert Contee would do an interview Thursday, and it remains unclear if there is intelligence that protesters could arrive as soon as next week.

A convoy of truckers in Canada protesting vaccine mandates shut down border crossings and a state of emergency was declared in Ottawa.

As those protests wind down, similar groups are taking a cue stateside planning their own convoys. While groups have stated they will come to D.C., it doesn’t appear plans are imminent.

Concerns about the impact on D.C. are heightened with the State of the Union address set for March 1st.

D.C. Police released a statement Thursday saying:

"The Metropolitan Police Department (MPD) is aware of potential First Amendment activities that may take place in the National Capital Region, including Washington, DC.

At this time, a permit application has not been submitted to MPD. As with all First Amendment demonstrations, MPD will be monitoring, assessing, and planning accordingly with our law enforcement partners."