A Toronto police officer convicted of assaulting a protester during the G20 summit has been sentenced to 45 days in prison.
Const. Babak Andalib-Goortani was convicted in September of assault
with a weapon for using excessive force during the arrest of protester
Adam Nobody on June 26, 2010.
The Crown had called for a “short, sharp sentence of imprisonment” to
send a message that those who abuse their positions of public trust and
authority “will be dealt with severely.”
Andalib-Goortani’s lawyer, Harry Black, had asked for the officer to receive an absolute discharge.
Read on...
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Showing posts with label G20. Show all posts
Showing posts with label G20. Show all posts
Guelph activist awaits arrest over blog post
GUELPH — Just three days after starting a blog, Julian Ichim is being asked by Ontario Provincial Police to change one of his posts.
“Why are they looking at my blog anyways?” he said, sounding genuinely surprised by the reaction it’s been getting.
Ichim is a local activist. He was a central participant in the recent Occupy Guelph protest and ran unsuccessfully this fall as an independent candidate in the provincial election in the Guelph riding. He was as also once suspected to be a co-conspirator in the protest violence that took place in Toronto during the G20 summit in 2010. G-20 charges laid against him were dropped last fall, to his apparent dismay.
“I was angry in November (2010) when my charges got dropped,” he said. “I never got to say my side of the story.”
Regular Crimbrary readers will recognize Julian from his adventures at G20. What is kind of surprising in this story is that the OPP paid an agent to be Julian's best friend for over a year and not one conviction resulted. Wonder how many times that agent suggested they do something illegal? What other social activists are the OPP wasting money on trying to 'catch'. And in a similar vein see this story:
Tim Harper: Government spies on advocate for native children
Tom
Inside a G20 cell: Video image shows conditions in detention centre
For the first time, the Toronto Star can reveal images showing inmates held inside the now notorious temporary G20 detention centre on Eastern Ave.
Housed in an unused film studio, the temporary jail held 885 people during the June 26-27, 2010, weekend when world leaders convened downtown and police officers rounded up more than 1,100 people in the largest mass arrest in Canadian history.
Those detained here say they were subjected to inhumane conditions: overcrowded cells, bathrooms with no doors, strip-searches, little access to water, food or legal counsel. The media was given a tour of the jail, but only after the cells were empty and about to be dismantled.
This image was taken from video footage of the temporary jail, where more than 100 security cameras recorded the 51 bullpens. The video was obtained by the Star after it was entered as evidence in the trial of Michael Puddy, a bricklayer from London, Ont.
Follow the above link to the video. Tom
Witness to G20 beating was suspect officer’s roommate, SIU says
One of the police officers who could not name a colleague accused of beating Dorian Barton during last June’s G20 summit was the suspect officer’s roommate, according to the head of the Special Investigations Unit.
Furthermore, two of the other so-called witness officers to Barton’s arrest were supervisors, Ian Scott told the Star.
“I’m not here to pass judgment,” said a clearly frustrated Scott. “I’m just telling you what happened.”
The SIU has been under fire after it concluded a week ago there was insufficient evidence to lay charges against any police officers, even though a photographer witnessed the takedown and identified an officer he said struck Barton. He provided a photo of the officer to the SIU.
The SIU asked 11 officers to identify the cop in the photograph. Eight of them were within the direct vicinity of the aggressive takedown near Queen’s Park, in which Barton, 30, suffered a broken right arm, black eye, swollen limbs and bruised back.
One of the witness officers was a G20 roommate of the officer in the photo, Scott said.
“I don’t know if they’re telling the truth or not,” he said. “I really don’t know.”
What is the big deal? Everyone knows eyewitness testimony is sketchy. Tom
Police officers investigated in G20 brutality case face new allegations
Adrian Morrow
Two Toronto police officers investigated for allegedly roughing up Adam Nobody during last June’s G20 summit are at the centre of a brutality accusation in a separate case.What’s more, the Special Investigation Unit’s file on the pair, Detective Constable Todd Storey and Detective Constable Luke Watson, may be released in court.
Mr. Nobody was taken to the ground and arrested by several officers at Queen’s Park on the afternoon of June 26. The SIU, the arm’s-length body that investigates – among other things – incidents of violent interaction with police, charged a uniformed officer allegedly involved with assault after witnesses produced videos of the incident.
The 27-year-old alleged he was also beaten a second time by two plainclothes officers, Det. Constables Storey and Watson, behind a police van away from public view. The SIU investigated both men in that incident, but ruled there was no evidence to corroborate Mr. Nobody’s contention and that his injuries – a broken nose and shattered cheekbone – had more likely been caused during his initial arrest.
Ontario Ombudsman's Report
Investigation into
The Ministry of Community Safety and
Correctional Services’ conduct
in relation to Ontario Regulation 233/10
under the Public Works Protection Act
“Caught in the Act”
André Marin
Ombudsman of Ontario
December 2010
The Link takes you to the full report. Here is a link to the Ombudsman's website. Tom
The Ministry of Community Safety and
Correctional Services’ conduct
in relation to Ontario Regulation 233/10
under the Public Works Protection Act
“Caught in the Act”
André Marin
Ombudsman of Ontario
December 2010
The Link takes you to the full report. Here is a link to the Ombudsman's website. Tom
Ombudsman charges G20 secret law was 'illegal'
A journalist with visible credentials is arrested by riot police as rain pours down at the conclusion of the G20 Summit June 27, 2010 in Toronto.
Robert Benzie and Rob Ferguson
It was “illegal” and “likely unconstitutional” for Premier Dalton McGuinty’s government to pass a secret regulation that police used to detain people near Toronto’s G20 summit of world leaders last summer, says Ombudsman Andre Marin.
In a scorching 125-page report entitled Caught in the Act, Marin said the measure “should never have been enacted” and “was almost certainly beyond the authority of the government to enact.”
“Responsible protesters and civil rights groups who took the trouble to educate themselves about their rights had no way of knowing they were walking into a trap – they were literally caught in the Act; the Public Works Protection Act and its pernicious regulatory offspring,” he told reporters.
Marin recommended that the little-known 1939 legislation should be revised or replaced and protocols developed so the public is made better aware when police powers are modified. He has given the government six months to make progress on this front.
DiManno: G20 Youtube video a sorry affair indeed
Sorry chief — truly I am — but sorry just isn’t good enough.
A man of integrity, which Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair is, would at least offer to resign.
And a police services board that has the authority to hire and fire this city’s top cop — no one else can do that — should think seriously about terminating Blair’s renewed contract.
Some professionals, because of the power they wield and all the moral heft they carry in our society, don’t have the luxury of being so profoundly wrong or misguided.
It is not simply about taking the blame for the misdeeds of others — officers who answer ultimately to their chief through the chain of command — because the buck stops in that brass-and-braid invested office.
Blair blasts SIU over findings of ‘probable’ excessive force
Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair is lashing out at the Special Investigations Unit for saying excessive force was probably used by officers in two cases during G20 protests.
The two cases are among six investigated by the police watchdog, which then decided not to pursue charges because the officers in question could not be identified.
At the centre of Blair’s grievances, a YouTube video the SIU used as corroborating evidence of excessive force against a civilian.
Blair said the video had been “tampered with.” He said the tape had been “forensically examined” over the weekend and that it was edited in a way that offered no explanation for why force was used.
Crimbrary applied its own forensic analysis to the video above and Crimbrary can confirm that the police officers in the video were edited into the scene by Ray Harryhausen's ghost. For more of Harryhausen's work see here. Tom
Toronto shut out of G8, G20 spending spree
The federal government showered $50 million on the Muskoka region to compensate residents for the “inconveniences” of hosting world leaders while Toronto — which suffered security headaches, protests and property damage — was shut out of any cash.
Bruce Campion-Smith and Les Whittington
Federal officials confirmed Thursday that much of the funding of a generous G8 “legacy infrastructure fund” was never meant for the summit but rather as payback to people in the Parry Sound-Muskoka region — a riding held by Industry Minister Tony Clement.
As Toronto cleaned up shattered glass from downtown streets and tallied up its lost business, residents across Muskoka were enjoying new sidewalks, bandshells, public washrooms, bridges and a resurfaced airport runway, all courtesy of the summit “slush” fund, opposition MPs charged Thursday.
And they questioned why Toronto — which played host to the larger G20 meeting in June and was ground zero for the protesters — has been denied similar largesse.
“The restaurant owners and the guys that got their windows smashed want some help for these things and I’m not sure they’re going to get it,” said NDP MP Pat Martin (Winnipeg Centre).
Toronto is getting some half priced sound cannons. Tom
Details of G20 fence announced
Fences will start going up on June 7 around the inside security perimeter ringing the Metro Toronto Convention Centre in downtown Toronto as the first concrete signs of the G20 summit start to fall into place.
The fences will be similar to the chain-link barriers used during the Indy car race in July, said Toronto Police Superintendent Tom Russell. No razor wire will be used. Police will be able to use tear gas, he said, and while the piercing LRAD sirens will be primarily for communication, he would not rule out other uses.
The security bill for the G20 summit of world leaders on June 26 and 27 and the G8 summit that precedes it in Huntsville adds up to $1.1 billion, including $933 million for policing.
The siege mentality of back-to-back summits will cost us dearly
Spending $1-billion to play host is preposterous
by Jeffrey Simpson
There was a time, when Gerald Ford was president of the United States and Pierre Trudeau was prime minister of Canada, that seven world leaders gathered informally once a year.
by Jeffrey Simpson
There was a time, when Gerald Ford was president of the United States and Pierre Trudeau was prime minister of Canada, that seven world leaders gathered informally once a year.
The meeting was called the G7 summit, and the countries formed a cozy club of Western democracies. The leaders brought a handful of aides, didn’t make grandiose declarations, but rather talked among themselves about the issues of moment. They got to know each other better, and that was no bad thing.
The world has mightily changed since those mid-1970s
Mark these words, based on briefings from officials from four participant countries: The G20, at least for the Canadian media, will be the most grossly over-covered event of 2010.
Meanwhile the Canadian deficit continues to go through the roof. Tom
All G20 protests will be directed to Trinity Bellwoods Park
The restored gates of the original Trinity College mark the entrance to Trinity Bellwoods Park, which was chosen as the G20 summit protesting area.
MICHAEL STUPARYK/TORONTO STAR FILE PHOTOWith the upcoming G20 summit looming over downtown Toronto, the event is casting an increasingly larger shadow, one that now stretches as far west as Trinity Bellwoods Park.
Summit officials have chosen the park as the designated protesting area for the G20 summit on June 26 and 27. That means demonstrators — at least, the rule-abiding ones — will be wielding placards and shouting through megaphones from inside a 37-acre residential park, located some two kilometres west of the summit’s outer boundary, or so-called “yellow zone.”
Susan Atkinson was shocked to hear that summit organizers have decided to send hoards of protestors to her neighbourhood park.
So now Canada has designated protesting areas. When this started in the U.S. to keep protestors out of ear shot of George Bush, I thought it was crazy. Is anyone going to protest? Tom
"Sonic gun" used by police in Honduras now used against G-20 protesters?
by lysias
Fri Sep 25, 2009 at 09:17:30 AM PDT
I couldn't help but notice a photograph on Page A16 of today's Washington Post showing demonstrators against the G-20 meeting in Pittsburgh running away from "an ear-splitting siren" used by the police to disperse protesters.
The Washington Post story mentions "sound cannons".
Here's more mention in an AP report:
The marchers did not have a permit and, after a few blocks, police declared it an unlawful assembly. They played an announcement over a loudspeaker ordering people to leave and then police in riot gear moved in to break it up. Authorities also used a crowd-control device that emits a deafening siren-like noise, making it uncomfortable for protesters to remain in the area.
Police embroiled in violent battles with G20 protesters
Anti-G20 protesters rampaged through the city centre of Pittsburgh tonight, smashing up shops and throwing rocks at police, as officers used tear gas and baton-charges in an attempt to bring them under control.
In riots which continued through evening rush hour, about 300 protesters were reported to have remained from an initial crowd of 2,000 in Bloomfield, Pittsburgh’s Little Italy.
Frustrated in their attempts to reach the venue where world leaders are meeting the crowd, many of whom wore face-masks and armed themselves with rocks, broke windows at fast-food restaurants, a BMW dealership and a bank in the area, about a mile from the fenced-off convention centre.
Check out the video. There is also a report that the police are using "accoustic weapons" for the first time on American soil. Lots of practice with these weapons in Iraq and Afghanistan no doubt. Tom
Tasers Are the New Killers: Watch Their Popularity Surge!
As protesters descend upon London's financial district to demonstrate the G-20 summit this week, they are being met by thousands of Metropolitan police officers carrying out what has repeatedly been described as the biggest police operation ever undertaken in the capital. Pre-emptive arrests were made earlier this week and despite the mainly nonviolent protests -- overshadowed by media reports of a "seige" on the Bank of England -- by Wednesday night, more than 60 people had been arrested and one man was dead.
Police in London have been gearing up for these clashes for months, attracting press attention for the “unprecedented” security deployment and the various tools at their disposal. Among them are so-called "non-lethal weapons" of the sort that have become biquitous crowd control devices. "Scotland Yard is to deploy officers armed with 50,000-volt Taser stun guns to deal with violent demonstrators," the Times Online reported earlier this week, noting that police were gearing up for any "anarchist elements" "likely to stir up trouble."Read on...
Tasers no doubt are getting a real workout at the G20 summit. Tom
G20 Protests: Thousands Flood Into City of London
G20 summit protesters have clashed with police after crowds flooded into central London as world leaders prepare to discuss the global economic meltdown.
Eleven arrests were reported before a tense standoff developed between rows of police holding batons and a surging crowd close to the Bank of England.
One man, bleeding from the head, was repeatedly seen to apparently goad officers, who did not respond.
At one point, a black-clad masked man in the crowd struck an officer with a long pole. The officer was pulled away by colleagues and required treatment at the scene.
Crowds reacted to rumours of police movements in an attempt to avoid being encircled, causing more surges in large numbers of people.
Read on...
This story is being downplayed in the U.S. media. The U.S. is more concerned that Michelle Obama touched the Queen. Gasp!! Follow the link for video. Tom
Eleven arrests were reported before a tense standoff developed between rows of police holding batons and a surging crowd close to the Bank of England.
One man, bleeding from the head, was repeatedly seen to apparently goad officers, who did not respond.
At one point, a black-clad masked man in the crowd struck an officer with a long pole. The officer was pulled away by colleagues and required treatment at the scene.
Crowds reacted to rumours of police movements in an attempt to avoid being encircled, causing more surges in large numbers of people.
Read on...
This story is being downplayed in the U.S. media. The U.S. is more concerned that Michelle Obama touched the Queen. Gasp!! Follow the link for video. Tom
G20 Protests: Riot Police, or Rioting Police?
At the G20 protests in London only one group appears to be looking for violent confrontation – and it's not the protesters
by George Monbiot
The trouble-makers are out in force again. Dressed in black, their faces partly obscured, some of them appear to be interested only in violent confrontation. It's almost as if they are deliberately raising the temperature, pushing and pushing until a fight kicks off. But this isn't some disorganised rabble: these people were bussed in and are plainly acting in concert. There's another dead giveaway. They are all wearing the same slogan: Police.
The police have been talking up violence at the G20 protests for weeks. They briefed journalists and companies in the City of London about the evil designs of the climate campaigners intending to demonstrate there, but refused to let the campaigners attend the briefings and put their own side of the story. They also rebuffed the campaigners when they sought to explain to the police what they wanted to do.
Read on...
by George Monbiot
The trouble-makers are out in force again. Dressed in black, their faces partly obscured, some of them appear to be interested only in violent confrontation. It's almost as if they are deliberately raising the temperature, pushing and pushing until a fight kicks off. But this isn't some disorganised rabble: these people were bussed in and are plainly acting in concert. There's another dead giveaway. They are all wearing the same slogan: Police.
The police have been talking up violence at the G20 protests for weeks. They briefed journalists and companies in the City of London about the evil designs of the climate campaigners intending to demonstrate there, but refused to let the campaigners attend the briefings and put their own side of the story. They also rebuffed the campaigners when they sought to explain to the police what they wanted to do.
Read on...
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