Kingston Police make arrest in relation to hate motivated incident

October 20, 2023

23-42021

Kingston Police make arrest in relation to hate motivated incident

On October 17, 2023 members of the Kingston Jewish Community held a rally at Market Square which was attended by approximately 100 Israel supporters.

Members of the Kingston Police Community Orientated Response and Engagement (CORE) Unit attended this rally in order to keep the peace and monitor the crowds for any type of disruptions.

At approximately 5:10 p.m. police observed a black truck stopped for a red light at the intersection of Brock Street and King Street. When the traffic light turned green the truck did not proceed into the intersection.

At the same time, participants in the rally were walking in the crosswalk at King Street and Brock Street.  The black truck suddenly accelerated, turned into the crosswalk, cutting off the rally participants as they crossed the street.  The actions of the truck caused the pedestrians to fear they would be struck. They abruptly stopped and jumped back to avoid the speeding truck. 

Police conducted a traffic stop and arrested the driver for dangerous operation of a motor vehicle. The police investigation into these circumstances resulted in a belief that this act was a crime motivated by hate. 

The driver of the truck, an 18 year old Kingston male, was arrested and charged with dangerous operation of a motor vehicle. The accused was transported to Kingston Police Headquarters and subsequently released with a future court date.

Police are continuing to investigate this incident and are aware of a male individual who was also affected by the driver’s actions. Police are asking that this individual contact Sgt. Nesanayagam at cnesanayagam@kpf.ca.