It’s been quite the almost a week for people involved one way or another around the Montebello Summit.

Once two videos of peaceful protesters confronting masked men was released on YouTube, news releases send out, and outstanding work by Canadian Press writer Joan Bryden occurred Tuesday and Wednesday; ordinary people were asking questions.
CUPE, Yaya Canada and KaterKate had photos up with digital speed.

It didn’t take long for bloggers such as BigCityLib, Dr. Dawg, The Red Tory, Canadian Cynic, The Galloping Beaver and The Gazetter (among many others across a wide political spectrum) identifying the soles of the boots of the protesters and pointing out other salient details, before the initial lies denials stopped.

“I cannot answer your question because I don’t have the information,” said Const. Kane Kramer, a spokesman for the RCMP at the summit.

“I confirm (to) you that there is no agents provocateurs in the Surete du Quebec… It doesn’t exist in the Surete du Quebec,” spokesperson Const. Melanie Larouche told The Canadian Press.

A spokesman for Harper denied any role by the prime minister in the fair, saying “the PMO is not involved in security for events.” Public Safety Minister Stockwell Day’s office referred all questions to the RCMP.

Then came an analysis of ‘the rock’ one of the unknown, not arrested protesters was carrying. Some reports said it was a boulder, a melon sized rock, and the pictures gave the answer.  The protester had a rock, which after repeated requests by protesters he hung on to. (After all dropping it or handing it over to these ‘extremists’ might be breaking some law we civilians may not be familiar with). 
Since the three were not identified, media and blogs spread their pictures across Canada.

With jokes made about matching bandannas , the boots, gloves, police video cameras were noted and discrepancies blogged by posters across all political spectrums. 
While  the YouTube video hit count climbing steadily; the Surete du Quebec finally made a statement Thursday about the three ‘not arrested’ protesters. The statement said that after reviewing police video and YouTube:

“The police officers were identified by demonstrators when they refused to throw projectiles.”

That’s part of admission that can be read on the police site. Police followed up with a news conference Friday. Part of the news conference is available on the Surete du Quebec site, in French and English, text and video.

Text of Insp. Savard’s news conference statement. (.pdf)

They therefore joined a group of demonstrators that contained extremist elements. Those elements identified our police officers, who could not pursue their mandate. It was when leaving that group that they found themselves in a group of peaceful demonstrators. They then asked the police officers assigned to crowd control to leave the premises. Since those officers did not recognize them, they wrestled the Sûreté du Québec officers to the ground and handcuffed them in order to take them aside to confirm their identity. That intervention was never considered or presented by the Sûreté du Québec as an arrest. Furthermore, at no time did the officers in question engage in provocation or incite anyone to commit violent acts.

Media reports:

At no time did the officer with the rock threaten anyone with it or use it to incite violence by the actual protesters, Savard said.

“He only had the rock because he was trying to blend in with (a crowd of) extremists he had been with earlier.”

Earlier, the undercover officers had infiltrated a separate group of “extremists” and one of them handed an officer a rock, he said. The officers left the group and ended up in a crowd of peaceful demonstrators.

“He had a choice, a very quick choice to make,” Insp. Savard said. He held onto the rock because “he was still hoping that his cover was good … [but] he never had the intention of using that rock.”

There were hundreds of cameras at Montebello, police and civilian videos and still photos 
It shouldn’t be too difficult to find witnesses and even pictures of undercover police being handed this rock/projectile.
In less than a week, statements from officials have gone from ‘not our people’ to our people;  from ‘demonstrators’ to extremists, a ‘rock’ to ‘projectile’ from ‘having the rock to blend in’ to being given the rock by extremists.

In the same two photos of the boots, a commenter at StageLeft noticed a bottle clearly seen sticking out of the back pocket of one of the three police officers. It was removed for the ‘perp walk’ to the police van, although back packs and bandannas were not. The rock, well, who knows.
Another sharp eyed citizen commenter noticed the magic marker notation on the arm of one of the officers who rolled up his sleeve as he approached the police line.

Since the Surete du Quebec announced Saturday they will do an internal review of procedures, here are a few of many questions worth considering.
Ladies and Gentlemen of the Surete du Quebec Criminal Investigation Review Committee:

Is this bottle in the back pocket of one of your undercover officers a Corona bottle?

Permit me to clarify. 
The Ottawa Citizen said Tuesday:

Dozens more tear gas canisters exploded as the crowd began retreating east toward the village. In response, protesters in gas masks, goggles, and balaclavas hurled rocks, tomatoes, and stone-filled bottles at the police, who blocked Highway 148 and an adjacent cemetery.

Did extremists and your officers share a beer as part of their assignment to infiltrate?
Was you officer given that bottle by extremists?
What happened to the stones to fill it with?
Thank you for your attention. If, as we were told earlier this week, we have to be lied to in the interests of national security, kindly disregard these questions and we’ll figure it out on our own. Merci.