1 officer kicked in the head, others hurt while arresting Trans Mountain protesters

One police officer had a head injury after being kicked in the head, one was left with a knee injury and another a hand injury as four protesters were arrested at a demonstration against the expansion of the Trans Mountain pipeline in Burnaby on Monday night, according to the RCMP.

This was following 15 arrests that happened earlier in the day.

The arrests that resulted in injuries to officers took place between 7:30 p.m. and 10 p.m., according to police.

READ MORE: Police use ERT to extract protesting grandpa from tree at Kinder Morgan worksite

One arrest happened after a male locked himself to an excavator that was on a flatbed truck. Removed from the excavator, he was held in contempt of a court-imposed injunction.

Another arrest happened after a female climbed atop the excavator and wouldn’t come down.

She climbed down herself following hours of negotiation. But then she was alleged to have resisted arrest.

Police later took her into custody. She, too, was held in contempt of an injunction, but police are still investigating her actions.

Numerous demonstrators tried to intervene while she was being arrested, police said. A male and female were later arrested for obstruction.

“In this instance, a group of demonstrators made a decision to protest unlawfully, our officers on scene dealt with an unfolding situation professionally and took action to ensure the safety of all involved,” said Supt. Chuck McDonald in a release.

WATCH: Protesters showed up at the Kinder Morgan Tank Farm in Burnaby

There have been 55 arrests since Jan. 1.

The latest arrests came after Kinder Morgan was granted a permanent injunction to ban protesters from disrupting work at the Burnaby Mountain and Westridge Marine terminals on Mar. 15.

READ MORE: British Columbians ‘personally conflicted’ over Trans Mountain pipeline expansion: Poll

The $7.4-billion project will expand the existing 1,150-kilometre pipeline between Edmonton and Burnaby.

The expansion is set to increase the capacity of oil products flowing from Alberta to the B.C. coast from 300,000 barrels to 890,000 barrels.