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An Oshawa council meeting that first started with a violent altercation ended nearly seven hours later in a vote to eliminate the city’s auditor general position Tuesday night.

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The motion, which passed 8-3 at around 1 a.m., is the result of an inquiry into allegations against Oshawa’s city manager Bob Duignan made by former auditor general Ron Foster, whose job it was to oversee public spending.

In attendance were roughly 10-15 protesters in support of Mr. Foster, who released a controversial report in May accusing Mr. Duignan of tampering with files regarding the city purchase of a $5.2-million works depot.

We were encouraging the speaker, kind of like in parliament how they say ‘Hear, hear’

George Rust-D’eye, the lawyer commissioned by the Oshawa city council to review the allegations, has called the report “inappropriate both in timing and in form.” The review led to Tuesday’s night’s vote eliminating Mr. Foster’s position.

Before council came into session, two protesters, Daniel Hammond, 52, and Bill Steele, 46, were handcuffed and forcibly removed from the council chamber by plainclothes police officers, who were in attendance because the meeting was expected to generate controversy. Videos of the controversial arrests caused an uproar online after they were uploaded to YouTube.

Mr. Hammond said the altercation began because he was “clapping on his neck,” an action that wasn’t meant to be disruptive. “We were encouraging the speaker, kind of like in parliament how they say ‘Hear, hear,'” he said.

After being asked to leave by Oshawa Mayor John Henry, Mr. Hammond said he reached for his possessions but was quickly grabbed by security guards and told he was under arrest.

According to the Durham police statement, Mr. Hammond and Mr. Steele caused repeated disturbances during the meeting and refused to quiet down.

When the scuffle escalated, a man dressed in plain clothes stood up from the gallery and put Mr. Hammond in a chokehold. Another protester, Bruce Borland, 53, tried to pry the man off, not realizing he was an officer.

“It was when he pulled out his badge when I thought, ‘It’s not worth the resistance,” says Mr. Borland. “You’re going out the door no matter what.’”