at 6:00 p.m., protestors cut back a fence and by 7:30 had moved vehicles into the park. About thirty-five protestors occupied the park. The protestors had been threatening occupation since the spring. The original police strategy was to co-occupy the park peacefully with the First Nations. But when a protester from the group smashed the window of a police cruiser, the OPP pulled back from the park. In anticipation of the move on the park by the Stoney Point First Nations, the OPP had prepared a contingency plan named Project Maple. The plan stressed "a peaceful resolution" and called for a team of two negotiators to be on call around the clock. Progressive Conservative member of Provincial Parliament (MPP) Marcel Beaubien was in contact with the police the following day, and Beaubien also contacted the office of Premier Harris, in an attempt to put pressure on the government to intervene. On September 5, 1995, the premier and several government officials met to discuss the Ipperwash protest. The meeting notes concluded that "the province will take steps to remove the occupiers as soon as possible." Killing of Dudley George On Wednesday, the OPP became concerned about a group of protesters who had wandered outside the park and into the Sandy Park lot area adjacent to the cottages. The group were allegedly carrying bats and sticks in their hands. The number of protesters has been debated, although police reports indicate a group of up to eight. There was also misinformation about damage that had been done to a band councillor's car by this group of protesters. The damage to the councillor's car was from a rock thrown by one of the protesters who took exception to an article the councillor had written disapproving of the occupation. A rumour started that the protesters smashed up the vehicle of a female driver with baseball bats, a report that was later found by Justice Sidney Linden to be false and misleading. Out of public safety concerns, the OPP decided to deploy the crowd management unit (CMU) to force the protesters back into the park. The CMU was a riot squad armed with steel batons, shields and helmets. The CMU was backed up by a tactical response unit (TRU). The OPP intended a show of force to move the protesters back inside the park. On Wednesday evening, police riot squads marched down to the Sandy Parking