Toronto G20 policing too aggressive

[grumpydigger]

http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/toronto/s ... puddy.html A Toronto judge has blasted police tactics during last year's G20 summit.

Lawyers defending some of the people charged with offences in connection with last year's summit say a Toronto judge's ruling this week is going to have "an enormous impact" on their cases.

The case in question involved Michael Puddy, who took part in a demonstration on Saturday June 26, at the corner of Spadina Avenue and Queen Street West.

Puddy was on his way to a concert when he decided to join the peaceful protest.

Minutes later he had been pushed to the ground and cuffed with plastic restraints. He was held in custody for two days.

Police testified Puddy had a 15-centimetre knife attached to his belt.

Puddy, 32, from London, Ont., was eventually charged with obstructing police, concealing a weapon and possession of a prohibited weapon.

The first two charges were dismissed three months ago. On Thursday Puddy was found not guilty on the third charge.

His lawyer, Adam Goodman, said Puddy had "no intention to obstruct the police or cause any trouble," yet he was arrested.

Justice Melvyn Green accepted Puddy's defence that he was not carrying the knife as a weapon and further ruled that since the arrest was illegal, so too was the search that uncovered the knife.

Puddy's arrest, he wrote, was "completely unjustified."

Green's judgment caused a stir because of its harsh criticism of police tactics. He said police officers acted as the aggressors that evening.

"The only organized or collective physical aggression at that location that evening was perpetrated by police each time they advanced on demonstrators," Green wrote.

He went on to say that the "zealous exercise of police arrest powers in the context of political demonstrations risks distorting the necessary if delicate balance between law enforcement concerns for public safety and order, on the one hand, and individual rights and freedoms, on the other."

Defence lawyer Howard Morton, who has two clients still facing G20 charges, said he thinks the ruling is "going to have an enormous impact."

"For the first time we have the outrageous conduct of the police that weekend being examined in a judicial setting in a criminal trial," said Morton.

"The judge called it what it was, outrageous police conduct."

Lawyers say the Ontario Court of Justice ruling will not set a precedent, but it will help to bolster defence arguments in future cases.

[grumpydigger]

Falsely arrest literally thousands of people on trumped up charges And Detain them for one to three days...

And have the judges throw out 99% of the arrests.......

It is really the Canada you want to live in :eyeballspin:

[WoodWizard]

Falsely arrest literally thousands of people on trumped up charges And Detain them for one to three days...

And have the judges throw out 99% of the arrests.......

It is really the Canada you want to live in :eyeballspin:

Where do you live?

[goatboy]

So the guy is going to a Concert with a 15cm knife on his belt???? What kind of concert allows you to bring in a 15cm knife. Then he decides to join in a peaceful demonstration? We all saw how peaceful they were. Sorry, no sympathy here.

[fvkasm2x]

I don't put much stock in anything a judge says. They can be just as corrupt/lazy as any bad cop out there. Plus, they don't actually do any of the "hard labor" like the cops do. They sit in their fancy robe and admonish people without a clue how the real life works. Then they let a kiddie rapist out on probation.

[WoodWizard]

Falsely arrest literally thousands of people on trumped up charges And Detain them for one to three days...

And have the judges throw out 99% of the arrests.......

It is really the Canada you want to live in :eyeballspin:

Do you CHOOSE to live in this Canada? Is there a better place to live?

[grumpydigger]

Falsely arrest literally thousands of people on trumped up charges And Detain them for one to three days...

And have the judges throw out 99% of the arrests.......

It is really the Canada you want to live in :eyeballspin:

Do you CHOOSE to live in this Canada? Is there a better place to live?

Did you even bother to read the article. Or perhaps you believe false arrests And police Taking all their ID off So they can attack people without repercussions Is what Canada stands for :eyeballspin:

[grumpydigger]

I don't put much stock in anything a judge says. They can be just as corrupt/lazy as any bad cop out there. Plus, they don't actually do any of the "hard labor" like the cops do. They sit in their fancy robe and admonish people without a clue how the real life works. Then they let a kiddie rapist out on probation.

I'll say it again.

Cops hate judges and lawyers because they hold them accountable for their actions :200: the last thing I want is some cop believing he is judge jury and executioner.

Oh wait :200: we all ready have that here in British Columbia

[rideforever]

http://www.castanet.net/edition/news-st ... .htm#75259
"Police violated civil rights, detained people illegally, and used excessive force during the G20 summit two years ago, a new report concludes."


Whats the punishment for:
Assault with a weapon?
Forced confinment?
Forcing people to remove ALL their clothes?

And why havent these sociopathic, tantrum throwing babbies been charged?
No wonder so many people disagree with the cons giving raises to rcmp.

[econovan64]

The beatings will continue until morale improves.

I know, I borrowed it.

[Winston_Smith]

At least 30 Toronto officers will face charges under the Police Act in the wake of a scathing report on police action at the G20, which was released by a provincial watchdog on Wednesday.

The charges are for misconduct during the June 2010 summit protests, and include unlawful arrest and unnecessary force.

At least two of the charges are against senior officers, CTV News learned Thursday.

The charges come after a report issued by Ontario's police watchdog Gerry McNeilly, head of the Officer of the Independent Police Review Director.

The report found that police overstepped their authority, unlawfully detained protestors and violated basic civil rights.

The report was also critical of the level of force used by officers as they tried to control crowds.

After the report was released, Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair said he would hold officers accountable for their actions if they were found guilty of misconduct during upcoming police tribunal hearings.

The tribunals will be open to the public, Blair said.

Police said Thursday that they won't comment on the charges, but they are expected to release more information Friday.

Toronto police have already released the names and charges of the following eight officers, who will face a police tribunal on the second floor of Toronto Police Headquarters on Tuesday, June 19 at 9 a.m.:

Const. Vincent Wong, Unlawful arrest of "J.W." (Sunday, June 27, 10 a.m. at Yonge Street and Gerrard Avenue)
Const. Blair Begbie, Unlawful arrest of "J.W." (June 27, 10 a.m. at Yonge Street and Gerrard Avenue)
Const. Alan Li, Unlawful arrest of "A.S." (June 27, 4 p.m., Bloor Street West and Huron Street)
Const. Donald Stratton, Unlawful arrest of "A.S." (June 27, Bloor Street West and Huron Street)
Const. Micahle Kirpoff, Unnecessary force on prisoner "J.M." (June 27, Queen Street West and Spadina Avenue)
Const. Ryan Simpson, Unlawful arrest of cyclist "N.W." (June 27, Bloor Street and Spadina Avenue)
Const. Jason Crawford, Unlawful arrest of "N.W." (June 27)
Const. Michael Martinez ,Unnecessary force on prisoner "J.R." (Saturday, June 26, Novotel Hotel)

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/Canada/20120517/officers-charged-g20-120517/

[rideforever]

http://news.sympatico.cbc.ca/canada/g20 ... d/04779cb1

G20 'kettling' commander among 45 officers to be charged



Misconduct charges are expected against 45 Toronto police officers involved in the G20 summit two years ago, including five senior officers, one of them the commander who gave the notorious order to "kettle" protesters.


A copy of an investigative report carrying the logo of the provincial watchdog agency, the Office of the Independent Police Review Director, was provided to CBC News late Thursday night by one of the 37 people who filed complaints about their treatment during the kettling incident. CBC News was unable to confirm its authenticity with the OIPRD.

The report says some of the responsibility for detaining several hundred people for four hours in the rain goes all the way to the top, to Toronto police Chief Bill Blair and Deputy Chief Tony Warr, though it falls short of mandating charges against them.

But the report says operational responsibility lies with Supt. Mark Fenton, one of two Toronto officers who served as "incident commanders" during the G20 and had control of officers in streets. He is expected to face two charges.

Fenton's order to keep the group of protesters, bystanders and even some journalists boxed in at Queen Street West and Spadina Avenue "in a severe rain storm that included thunder and lightning was unreasonable, unnecessary and unlawful," according to the document. It violated the detainees' constitutional right against arbitrary detention and was negligent, the 276-page report says.

The commander's explanation to investigators for his decision was that he feared police riot squads weren't mobile enough to react to "ongoing attacks" by what he saw as "terrorists" committing acts of vandalism in Toronto's streets. "Therefore, the tactic of isolating, containing the movement of the terrorists/protesters was required to stop the ongoing attacks and prevent new attacks," the report quotes Fenton saying.

The report indicates the OIPRD is directing Blair to charge Fenton with two counts of misconduct under the Police Services Act: unlawful exercise of authority and discreditable conduct.

The charges under the Police Services Act are not criminal and amount to internal discipline, which can result in docking of pay to outright dismissal. None of the out-of-town police officers brought in to help Toronto police was charged.

The watchdog agency investigated nine other officers' conduct in relation to the June 27, 2010, kettling incident, but charges were not substantiated against any of them.

The OIPRD tabled a separate public report on the G20 released Wednesday that concluded a "turning point' during the summit weekend came late Saturday, June 26, when Warr implored Fenton to "take back the streets."

OIPRD director Gerry McNeilly says that following those instructions the Major Incident Command Centre (MICC) structure broke down, as the night incident commander (Fenton) launched an "autocratic" and "dysfunctional" crackdown ordering mass arrests of protesters.

Some front-line officers, according to McNeilly, ultimately disregarded Fenton's orders at the kettling and let some people out of the ring of riot squad officers, including those with medical emergencies. He noted records of one officer stating of Fenton, "He's maniacal this MICC, he's maniacal."

Fenton could not be reached for comment and did not respond to emails from CBC News on Thursday night. He has not had an opportunity to respond to the report or the expected disciplinary charges against him.

45 police expected to face charges

Three or four of Fenton's fellow senior officers, and about 40 other Toronto police, are also expected to face charges by the time the oversight body wraps up its investigation of G20 policing.

CBC News has learned that to date the OIPRD has ordered Blair to charge 28 of those officers, but the agency is expected to direct him to lay more counts against another 17, including Fenton, bringing the total number of officers facing discipline hearings to 45.

The Toronto Star reported early Friday that two of those senior officers found to have committed misconduct are the pair who were in command of the mass detention centre on Eastern Avenue, where hundreds of arrested people were held during the G20 weekend.

Some details of the OIPRD proceedings surfaced this week at Ontario's Divisional Court when Toronto's police union attempted to have the cases dismissed due to delays. A panel of three judges rejected the application brought by the union on behalf of eight officers - two accused of using unnecessary force on prisoners and six accused of conducting illegal arrests. They are now expected to appear before tribunals on June 19 and July 24.

The news of the disciplinary charges comes on the heels of the release on Wednesday of the OIPRD's scathing systemic review of overall policing of the G20 summit, during which the agency says some officers used "excessive force" to crack down on demonstrations as more than 1,100 people were rounded up in the streets.

When he released his review, McNeilly told reporters that his team of investigators was also probing allegations against specific officers. He said 350 individuals filed complaints relating to G20 policing, and his office substantiated 107 of them, determining 97 were "serious."

An OIPRD spokesman later explained that some of the complaints involved the same incidents and the same officers.

Criminal charges

The OIPRD proceedings against individual officers add to numerous disciplinary charges already laid by Blair on his own initiative against officers caught removing their name tags during G20 demonstrations.

In addition, criminal charges were laid against two Toronto constables by Ontario's Special Investigations Unit, which probes serious injuries or deaths involving police.

The SIU charged Const. Babak Andalib-Goortani with assault with a weapon in connection with an incident at Queen's Park in which protester Adam Nobody suffered a broken cheekbone in a violent takedown captured on video. He faces a second count of assault with a weapon stemming from another incident at the same protest in which a woman was hit with a baton.

And Const. Glenn Weddell stands accused of assault causing bodily harm after 30-year-old Dorian Barton's arm was broken while he was photographing police during a protest.

Kettling incident was caught on video:

This is a good start, but internal discipline sounds like a pretty lax punishment for assault with a weapon, forced confinment and sexual assault. Why do they get in less trouble for committing such horrific crimes than a civilan would get in if he beat someone up, tied them up, locked them in his basement and stripped off ALL their clothes?

Between the fact that they're paid to protect the law and the fact that they should know the law better than civilians, I think cops should get in more trouble than ordinary civilians when they commit these terrifying acts.

[rideforever]

removed - Jennylives

[Captain Awesome]

removed - Jennylives