Women claiming to have been profiled because of their hairy legs are
among a group of seven people planning to serve a $1.4-million claim
against police on Wednesday arising out of the violence-marred G20
summit two years ago.
The group from Hamilton alleges the police
wrongfully arrested them on June 27, 2010 – a day after vandals went on a
rampage in downtown Toronto – as they emerged from a Yonge Street
restaurant, their lawyer said.
They allege they were kept for hours in handcuffs, then held for more
than 24 hours at a makeshift detention centre in the city’s east end
before being released without charge. One of the plaintiffs also alleges
she was sexually assaulted during a roadside strip search.
None of the claims has been proven or tested in court.
In
a statement, lawyer Davin Charney said one of the seven asked the
reason for their arrest and an officer told them police “would make one
up.”
Read on...
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Showing posts with label G20 Protest. Show all posts
Showing posts with label G20 Protest. Show all posts
Protester sues ‘This ain’t Canada’ cop after York police board refuses to charge him
The York Police Services Board has blocked efforts to lay misconduct charges against an officer captured on YouTube telling a G20 protestor “This ain’t Canada right now” and demanding that he be searched.
In October, the province’s police complaints watchdog recommended three misconduct charges against Sgt. Mark Charlebois, who apprehended Paul Figueiras during the G20 summit two years ago.
But because the directive came well after a six-month deadline York Region’s police chief had to ask the board’s permission to lay the charges. (Under the Police Services Act, a disciplinary hearing can only be called within six months of the initial complaint.)
He was refused.
“Ultimately, the board decided that it was not reasonable, under the circumstances, to delay serving the notice of hearing,” said board spokesperson Mafalda Avellino in an emailed statement.
Read on...
In October, the province’s police complaints watchdog recommended three misconduct charges against Sgt. Mark Charlebois, who apprehended Paul Figueiras during the G20 summit two years ago.
But because the directive came well after a six-month deadline York Region’s police chief had to ask the board’s permission to lay the charges. (Under the Police Services Act, a disciplinary hearing can only be called within six months of the initial complaint.)
He was refused.
“Ultimately, the board decided that it was not reasonable, under the circumstances, to delay serving the notice of hearing,” said board spokesperson Mafalda Avellino in an emailed statement.
Read on...
Report critical of G20 tactics, Chief Blair defensive
It was a defensive Chief Bill Blair who met reporters in the atrium of
Toronto police headquarters on Wednesday. A scathing report on police
conduct during the G20 protests in 2010 had just been released. It found
that disorganized, poorly trained police had often trampled on the
rights of protesters and sometimes resorted to excessive force.
Did the chief care to apologize? Would he acknowledge that police sometimes acted outside the law? Did he have any sense of regret?
No, no and no. “Generally – I think overwhelmingly – the rights of our citizens were protected that weekend,” he said. Asked if he agreed with the report's finding that police had acted unlawfully on several occasions during the G20, he replied: “No. That has not been proven at all.”
Read on....
Did the chief care to apologize? Would he acknowledge that police sometimes acted outside the law? Did he have any sense of regret?
No, no and no. “Generally – I think overwhelmingly – the rights of our citizens were protected that weekend,” he said. Asked if he agreed with the report's finding that police had acted unlawfully on several occasions during the G20, he replied: “No. That has not been proven at all.”
Read on....
G20 officers should be charged in Nobody arrest, police watchdog says
Five Toronto police officers should be charged with using unnecessary force against protester Adam Nobody during the G20 summit 19 months ago, an independent police review says.
The 174-page report by the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) is based on interviews with a dozen police witnesses, the five officers involved, five civilian witnesses and Nobody himself.
The allegation that Constables Michael Adams, Babak Andalib-Goortani, Geoffrey Fardell, David Donaldson and Oliver Simpson used unnecessary force “is substantiated and is of a serious nature,” the report says.
Nobody suffered a broken right cheekbone and broken nose in the takedown on June 26, 2010.
G20 conspiracy plea deal would see 11 walk free; three from Kitchener and Guelph face jail
TORONTO — The 17 alleged co-conspirators accused of plotting the G20 mayhem have struck a plea bargain with prosecutors that would see 11 defendants walk free and the other six face jail terms of less than two years, according to the Toronto Star.
But the six pleading guilty under the deal — including three from Kitchener and Guelph — would not be pleading to conspiracy, the crime with which they were initially charged. Instead, they would be pleading to the lesser crime of counselling to commit an indictable offence.
Recommended sentences under the plea deal are between six and 20 months.
The position now being taken by the Crown is “drastically different” from how the 17 were portrayed at bail hearings, said lawyer Howard Morton, whose client, Joanna Adamiak, will see her charges dropped as part of the deal.
“This was nothing more than an attempt to create a public image that these people are terrorists,” Morton said of the prosecution’s portrayal of the 17 activists and self-described anarchists.
“These people are anything but terrorists. I mean, I wonder if any of them would even survive anarchy.”
Charges laid against a Guelph activist over G20 blogging
KITCHENER — Julian Ichim is going to have another day in court.
The local activist, who helped lead the Occupy Guelph movement and various other recent protests in Guelph, has been charged with three counts of disobeying a court order and is scheduled to appear in a Toronto courtroom on Dec. 13. The charges were laid in relation to a post on a blog he started this month. Prior to being charged was warned by the OPP he would face charges if he didn’t excise a name in a post about an undercover officer who worked on the G20 case.
Ichim said he’s looking forward to the trial and won’t amend his blog.
“I actually thanked them for charging me,” he said. “The cops’ mouths just dropped.”
The two sides of Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair
On the eve of the one-year anniversary of the G20 summit, there were two versions of Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair on display.
The first was contrite, admitting that there were problems with the way officers handled protests in failing to stop a small group of black-clad vandals from smashing up the downtown, and that administrative “deficiencies” at a temporary detention centre left some arrestees without access to lawyers and medical evaluations.
The second, however, was combative, defending the decision to round up hundreds of peaceful protesters and saying that, despite a months-long review of policing at the summit, he did not know whether the RCMP or other police forces at the Integrated Security Unit headquarters in Barrie, Ont., had given orders that added to the confusion on the streets during those fateful days.
Exclusive: Toronto police swear off G20 kettling tactic
A man sits at Queen and John Sts. in front front of a line of riot police during G20 protests in Toronto on June 26, 2010.
Toronto police will never again use the controversial crowd control technique known as kettling, which was employed for the first and last time in the city’s history during last year’s G20 summit.
The decision was revealed to the Star in a police statement Tuesday, along with the information that two Toronto police superintendents were “responsible” for commanding and controlling G20 policing in the city outside the security fence.
On June 27, the final day of the G20 summit, some 300 protesters and bystanders were boxed in, or kettled, by riot police at Queen St. and Spadina Ave. for about four hours.
Not long after the enclosure, rain began to fall in torrents as some stood shivering in summer dresses and tank tops.
“The crowd control technique implemented at Queen & Spadina on June 27 will not be used again by the Toronto Police Service,” spokeswoman Meaghan Gray said in the statement, a response to a list of G20-related questions sent by the Star.
Kitchener man sues Toronto police over G20 search
A Kitchener man is suing the Toronto police for detaining him and searching his bag in a public park before a G20 protest last summer in an incident that was caught on video and posted to YouTube.
Such searches were commonplace across downtown Toronto during the summit, and were widely decried by activists and civil libertarians as a violation of the right to be free from unreasonable search and seizure.
n the 10-minute video, Luke Stewart is stopped by three male officers as he arrives at Allan Gardens to attend an anti-poverty demonstration on Friday, June 25, the day before the principal protests against the G20. The officers insist on searching a red backpack Mr. Stewart is carrying; the 25-year-old refuses and repeatedly asks them under what law they are allowed to search his bag.
The trio are unable to provide a reason and, when Mr. Stewart refuses to turn over his bag, they call up a sergeant to deal with him. When she repeats the order that he turn over his backpack, he asks her the same questions.
Civil-liberties report ratchets up pressure for public inquiry into G20 summit
Bill Curry
A new report into police conduct at the Toronto G20 summit concludes that only a federal-provincial public inquiry will get to the bottom of who called the shots in the run up to violent confrontations and the largest mass arrests in Canadian history. The report by the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the National Union of Public and General Employees summarizes concerns from the public that surfaced during three days of hearings the groups organized in November.
In addition to the reasons behind the 1,105 arrests by police, the authors of the report say comments from the public raise concerns that undercover police informants may have endorsed or supported the public displays of vandalism that were then used as justification for further arrests.
The call for a public inquiry is on track to become a formal position of the House of Commons later this month. The Commons public safety committee is scheduled to issue a report on G20 security later this month and all three opposition parties – representing a voting majority – support the call for a public inquiry.
A spokesman for federal Public Safety minister Vic Toews made clear Monday that the government does not share that view.
Mcguinty has already said no inquiry. Tom
Vindication for G20 Protesters
In the aftermath of the G20 fiasco here last summer, one thing Torontonians agreed on was that such summits should be held in isolated venues — on military bases, on ocean-going vessels, on melting glaciers — anywhere but where lots of people reside.
But beyond being upset with the expense and disorder that weekend, many Torontonians (and city council) sided with the police, assuming that the arrest of 1,105 people must have somehow been justified, given the rampage of a small group through the downtown core.
What is now unmistakably clear — with the release of a searing report by Ontario Ombudsman André Marin and startling new video evidence of police beatings obtained by the Star’s Rosie DiManno — is that the vast powers of the state were unjustifiably used against thousands of innocent protesters, as well as against others doing nothing more subversive than riding a bike or picking up groceries.
Unbeknownst to citizens who had gathered for a peaceful march through downtown Toronto — similar to marches frequently held without incident in the city — the provincial cabinet had resurrected police powers from the 70-year-old Public Works Protection Act, enacted when the country was at war with Nazi Germany.Read on...
Anti-G20 protester launches constitutional challenge
Montreal activist Jaggi Singh has launched a constitutional challenge against his bail conditions.
Montreal’s Jaggi Singh, one of dozens of community organizers arrested even before last summer’s G20 protests began, has launched a constitutional challenge against his bail conditions.
Although most of his co-accused have had similar restrictions imposed on their actions and movements, Singh, a noted anti-globalization and social justice activist, is the first to take the constitutional route.
He is to appear Wednesday in Ontario Superior Court, with the support of PEN Canada which is intervening in his case, citing that Singh’s right to freedom of expression has been violated.
G20 Trials and the War on Activism
The following speech was made by Canadian author and activist Naomi Klein at the telethon held to raise funds the legal costs of G20 protesters. The telethon took place in Toronto on Nov. 11 and rabble.ca carried it live. It can be viewed here.
So we are here to raise money.But more fundamentally, we are here because we know what happened in this city during the G20 and the wrong people are on trial for it.
There are police officers that should be facing charges for assault and harassment -- and so should any supervisors who enabled or covered over those abuses.
So far no one in authority has paid any price for what happened.
According to the Parliamentary Committee underway in Ottawa, the worst crime the cops committed was taking off their name tags.
And let's not forget that our outgoing city council -- lest we get too nostalgic given the incoming city council -- unanimously passed a motion to "commend the outstanding work of Chief Bill Blair, the Toronto Police Service and the police officers working during the G20 summit in Toronto."
G20 summit unmarred by violent rallies
By Park Si-soo
No violent demonstration were reported during the G20 Seoul Summit, which ended Friday, allowing police who have been on high alert for weeks to heave a sigh of relief.
The only large-scale rally, led by the militant Korean Confederation of Trade Union, held at Seoul Station Plaza, Thursday, ended without major clashes. Around 100 anti-G20 activists from 80 civic groups from around the world took part in the protest.
Hundreds of riot police in protective gear surrounded the crowd to keep them from marching toward the summit venue, with water cannons and tear gas at the ready in case violence broke out.
Read on...
Guess the Black Block couldn't make it. Probably still in detention in Toronto. Tom
No violent demonstration were reported during the G20 Seoul Summit, which ended Friday, allowing police who have been on high alert for weeks to heave a sigh of relief.
The only large-scale rally, led by the militant Korean Confederation of Trade Union, held at Seoul Station Plaza, Thursday, ended without major clashes. Around 100 anti-G20 activists from 80 civic groups from around the world took part in the protest.
Hundreds of riot police in protective gear surrounded the crowd to keep them from marching toward the summit venue, with water cannons and tear gas at the ready in case violence broke out.
Read on...
Guess the Black Block couldn't make it. Probably still in detention in Toronto. Tom
Thousands Protest in Seoul Before G20 Summit
![[Protesters raise their anti-G20 banners during a rally ahead of the G20 Seoul Summit, scheduled on November 11-12, in front of the Seoul railway station November 6, 2010. (REUTERS/Jo Yong-Hak)]](http://www.commondreams.org/files/article_images/stopG20.jpg "stopG20.jpg")
Protesters raise their anti-G20 banners during a rally ahead of the G20 Seoul Summit, scheduled on November 11-12, in front of the Seoul railway station November 6, 2010. (REUTERS/Jo Yong-Hak)SEOUL, South Korea -- Tens of thousands of people took to the streets of Seoul on Sunday in a largely peaceful protest against this week's G20 summit as the city went on heightened alert for the meeting of world leaders.
Authorities ramped up security at the weekend in preparation for the arrival of 10,000 participants, including 32 heads of government and leaders of international organizations, for the summit on Thursday and Friday.
South Korea is concerned about the risk of violent anti-capitalist protests -- a common feature of summits involving the world's leading economies -- and anxious its rival North Korea may try to stage an incident to embarrass it.
Security forces have been put on high alert, anti-aircraft missiles are at the ready, shipping and air routes are under heightened surveillance and airport screening has increased.
This should be interesting. It is a never ending story. Will the public have a right to protest in Seoul? Will the police behave themselves? Stay tuned. Tom
Charges against G20 activist dropped
Julian Ichim, once considered by police to be a co-conspirator of G20 violence, had charges of counselling to commit mischief dropped by the Crown on Monday.
The 30-year-old anti poverty activist appeared in provincial court with many of the 19 people co-accused of organizing violence during the summit of world leaders in June.
More than half of the accused appeared in court Monday, while others were represented by their lawyers.
Ichim was originally one of the accused co-conspirators, since those charges were withdrawn he faces no further charges related to G20 violence.
Crimbrary followed the adventures of this brave young man from Guelph throughout the G20 fiasco. Tom
90 officers facing disciplinary action for hiding their identity at G20
About 90 Toronto police officers are facing disciplinary action for removing the name badges from their uniforms during the G20 summit, Chief Bill Blair said Wednesday.
Blair was appearing in Ottawa before the House of Commons public safety committee to answer questions about summit security. He discussed the disciplinary action in response to MPs’ queries about accusations that a large group of officers deliberately tried to hide their identities from G20 protesters.
The Law Union of Ontario today released its Post-G20 Action Guide
Post-G20 Action Guide: Know your rights, know your options, and take action to get justice and hold the police accountable for their wrongdoing during the Toronto G20 Summit.
This guide is a resource to help you understand your rights and the kinds of actions you can take in response to a violation of your rights during the G20 Summit in Toronto in June 2010.During the G20 Summit in Toronto on June 26 and 27, 2010, police trampled on the legal rights and civil liberties of thousands of protestors, legal observers, media personnel, bystanders, and other members of the public.
If you or someone you know were one of them, this guide is for you.
If you want to know what you can do to hold the police accountable for their wrongful actions and to get compensation and justice for any wrong done to you, this guide is for you
This guide is available online and free of charge.
This guide could be useful. Unless of course there are some secret laws in effect that no one knows about.....except the police. Tom
An unidentified man is led away from the graduate students' union building in downtown Toronto on the morning of June 27 during a mass arrest. (CBC)
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