CCLA Files Five G20 Policing Complaints with OIPRD

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association has filed five complaints with the Office of the Independent Police Review Director for

- illegal mass arrests of 1105 persons;
- illegal detentions;
- unlawful dispersals of peaceful protests;
- unlawful use of excessive force on peaceful protestors and passersby;
- unlawful and inadequate conditions of detention.

Exact details of the complaints appear to not be visible. If anyone knows where I can find them, please let me know.

Police Services Board makes like it's doing something

It's going to select someone independent to review the G20 policing issues. The meeting today ended in some sort of shambles as public outcry against the lack of planned public participation in developing the terms of reference for the civilian review.

In two weeks we will learn more when the board reconvenes with some terms of reference. They will apparently accept deputations from the public then.

So, is the board serving the public, or is it serving the Chief? It's not clear yet. Looks like the board is moving forward, as after all, stonewalling isn't going to work. The real test is going to be who is selected to run the review, and what the terms are.

And, let's be clear: this is not a sufficient review. Multiple police services from multiple governments were present. This board only deals with the TPS. It's not clear how they can review what went on inside the command centre in Barrie.

Read Joe Warmington's column for more. Warmington has been doing a great job covering the police issues around the G20 fiasco.

Is the Toronto Police Services Board shafting the public it represents?

One week ago, Toronto's Police Services Board, the civilian body which holds Toronto Police accountable, announced that it saw no need for an inquiry. That's right, no evidence was in, no public submissions, no complaints yet filed, and the conclusion was already in.

Tomorrow morning, the board will vote on accepting a report from its Chair regarding "issues of public oversight of the police raised following the G20 Summit."

Not knowing its contents in advance, we can't know if the fast production of this document is a good thing or a bad thing.

But I'm not anticipating anything great.

The Police Services has a historical reputation of representing the police to the people rather than holding the police accountable, and I'm not expecting anything betterthis time around.

May they prove me wrong.

The Bad Lieutenant...

LOL! h/t Torontoist.

Burning police cars, assaulting police... remember that last Habs game?

Sixteen police cars damaged, several set on fire. Store fronts smashed, police subject to thrown objects, direct assaults and insults. Arrests? Only 16.

http://www.cbc.ca/canada/montreal/story/2008/04/22/mtl-habs.html

Police Propaganda: Chief Liar Blair dressing down a civilian via email

There is outright police propaganda currently published on the Toronto Police Service website.

To not be supportive of the police after their mass violations of our rights is, apparently, to be aligning wih "the criminals."


It's even called an 'email tale:'

An Ontario man sent the following email to Chief William Blair on the afternoon of Monday, June 28:

“My wife and I are in our mid 50’s and regularly come to Toronto to see shows and attend events.  I am so sorry to hear the things I am hearing about the officers who answer to you and their actions over this past G20 weekend.  For the first time I feel frightened by the idea of visiting Toronto and actually having to encounter one of the men or women who serve on the force there."
"It is not very likely I will see members of the ‘black block’ or whatever they are called, the fools who caused so much damage, but I will regularly see your staff, and after what I am reading and hearing on the radio, I will do my best to avoid them.“
“There is a lot of shame to go around there this weekend.  I hope your people are feeling their fair share.”

Chief Blair replied 34 minutes later:
“Contrary to your comments, I am enormously proud of my officers and the officers who gathered from across Canada to protect the Summit and the City.  If you chose to align yourself with the Criminals that victimized my officers and my citizens, that is your right.”
“I am in receipt of thousands of emails and phone calls of support and congratulations from honest, law abiding Canadians, who appreciate the courage and dedication of their police services. The police did an extraordinary job in the face of criminal provocation and danger. Your criticism, like the handful of similar sentiments expressed by the naive and uninformed will be given all the attention that it deserves.”

The Ontario man replied three hours later:
“Chief Blair, your direct and strong words and clear pride in your officers has left me ashamed for having written what I did earlier. I apologize. I could very well be naive and uninformed and that is not a place to judge from, which I did.”
“Good luck to you and the force you lead. They were faced with a difficult time and deserve credit for that and better than I gave. I mean that sincerely.”

Oh, please. Is that hamfisted slop or what?

We need to rid ourselves of this petty, self-important authoritarian.

Chief liar Blair must resign.

Irony

"Canada condemns the decision of the Iranian authorities to use violence and force against their own people... The government's reaction has been to silence the voices of its own people through brutality... The Iranian people deserve to have their voices heard, without fear of intimidation or violence. Canada condemns the use of force to stiffle dissent... The Government of Canada continues to support freedom, democracy, human rights and the rule of law in Iran."

-- Conservative Foreign Affairs Minister, Lawrence Cannon, June 2009

h/t 

Quick, call the riot cops

Parents in the northern BC community of Dunster have occupied their school to protest its impending closure. "We have been fighting with the school board and ministry for almost six months and getting nowhere," said Julie Marlow, whose oldest child

Just sayin...

Chief Liar Blair admits he violated our rights en mass

This piece of offensive police state crap just in:

Police admit deliberately misleading public on expanded security fence law

‘I was trying to keep the criminals out,’ police chief says there never was a five-metre arrest rule.

Next:

Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair displayed a shocking array of weapons and tools [allegedly] obtained from arrested G20 protesters this morning at police headquarters.

The recovered items included body armor, sledgehammers, machetes, an electric drill, saws, crowbars, shields, aluminum bats, dog repellent, bamboo rods and bottles of hot sauce.

Although the display of items took up half the lobby of the headquarters, officers on hand said more than five times the amount on display had been seized by police.

Speaking to reporters, Mr. Blair said the items on display demonstrated the extent of the criminal conspiracy surrounding the violent G20 protests over the weekend.

“No one should be so naïve as to think these people were there for the purpose of lawful protest,” he said, noting that the items were capable of “delivering deadly force.”

“We are all deeply disturbed by the crimes that were committed here.”

Chief Liar Blair just pulled this stuff out of storage. The hot sauce is his. Given that this disgrace of a Police Chief lied to the entire city about powers he didn't have, and had his police force illegally stop, search, seize and detain huge numbers of peace-abiding citizens, why should we believe anything this dishonorable man has to say?

'Criminal conspiracy'? Oh, please. Laying it on a bit thick, aren't we Chief Liar Blair?

The only conspiracy I am aware of is the mass violations of our rights this past weekend by our own police force.

Special TVO tonight: Police, Politics and Protest

A special issue of The Agenda with Steve Paikin is on tonight concerning the G20 protests and the uneven police response to them.

The panel, last I heard, is to be composed of

Kate Holloway is a parent of someone detained during Toronto's G20 protests. She is a former Liberal candidate for provincial parliament.

Ken Chan a former police officer, Ken Chan served as an advisor on community safety and police oversight in the office of Boris Johnson, Mayor of London, England.

Jesse Rosenfeld was covering the G20 demonstrations for the Guardian newspaper's Comment Is Free section and is an editorial collective member of the alternative media center in Toronto.

Tyler Hodgson is lawyer with Borden Ladner Gervais and a former crown attorney



Mercedes Stephenson is host of the national, weekly, current affairs series MSI (Mercedes Stephenson Investigates). She's also vice president of the Breakout Educational Network, a registered, non-profit, charitable foundation.


Ben Powless is Mohawk from Six Nations in Ontario. He is currently studying Human Rights, Indigenous and Environmental Studies at Carleton University in Ottawa. He is also heavily involved with the Indigenous Environmental Network.

The topic: What can the police do and not do? Were their actions this weekend within the law?

It is on tonight at 8 and 11.

The picture I took above is of a released detainee's ID sticker.

Steve Paikin calls unjustified mass arrests a "sad day for democracy"

Steve Paikin is interviewed by The Real News about his experiences Saturday observing the protests. He cites multiple instances of police intefering in our rights to associate and peacefully assemble.

G20 Rights Abuse: Sam, Rose and Ben are missing

Saturday night, I had dinner at my place with Kate Holloway and her son, Sam (a nice lasagna Kate had made). With Sam were his friends, Rose and Ben.

After eating, they announced they wanted to go downtown to observe the protests. *OBSERVE* not partake. The two men had bikes, but Rose didn't, so Kate lent her hers.

As they left, I reminded them to stay out of the way of police, and to split at the first signs of trouble. They were adamant that they wanted to observe, not protest.

A few hours later, Kate got a call: It was Sam saying that they were all about to be arrested at the Esplanade. He explained that they were just there observing, got cordoned off by police, and had no way out. Watch the video below to see what the police did.



At the same time, Steve Paikin started twittering alarming statuses about the same location. See Runesmith for a log of his alarming twitters from last night.

All day, many of us have been trying to get some news on their status. No news. No phone calls, no court appearance, nothing. Steve Paikin picked up the cause for a while, reporting on Twitter:

more fallout from last night:"My 19 yr old son, Sam and his girlfriend Rose were arrested.... > Esplanade last night. They weren't prot

"They are still being processed and I have not heard from them... > they called me last night to tell me that they were being arrested.


sam's mom is kate holloway, a liberal candidate in the 2007 ont election. ironic.

premier mcguinty's new law against assembly in certain places has caught the son of one of his candidates

What we have heard about the detention centre is that conditions and respect for our fundamental rights is not promising. Mike Barber, who was also arrested at the Esplanade, got out recently, and has tweeted some of his his experiences.

Hey everyone! I just got home after spending 18+ hours in the detention centre. Was arrested around 11pm at the anti-#G20 march.

#G20 detention centre guards kept hundreds of wet peaceful protesters in cold, cement air conditioned cells. #G20report  

#G20 detention centre guards refused to grant prisoners demand for a phone call and/or access to legal representation #G20report 

of dozens of fellow prisoners I was able to personally keep visual/verbal communication with, none were granted phone/lawyer #G20report

most of us charged with "unlawful breach of the peace" RT @Martin_K24: @apastdenied arrested for what? What kinda charges

1.) in last night's confrontation b/w cops and peacuful marcher in front of the Novotel Hotel, police phallanx surround and closed in +

2.) of everyone caught between the two phallanx (which offoer NO ESCAPE ROUTE... the police kept surging and grabbing, arresting EVERYONE +

3.) In my first cell (they moved us around) I had two mates that were just jogging in the area. Wrong place/time. Police didn't care.

Guards routinely ignored demands for water, food, blankets, bathroom visits, and demands to make a phone calls, contact their legal defense

Right now, the police have for hours kept a crowd of fellow Canadians 'kettled' at Queen and Spadina out in the rain. They can't go anywhere. This is what illegal detention looks like, folks. And if they'll do it in the open, you can only imagine what conditions they'll allow in private.


I'm hearing on CP24 that many are being released from the detention centre. 

Let's hope.


======
Update:


Found! They've been released. Rose has shown up, and the others are on their way.

Breaking: Rights banned within G20 defense perimeter

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association is reporting that a draconian regulation has been enacted severely restricting rights within the G20 perimeter:

...streets and sidewalks within the perimeter of security zone have been designated under the Public Works Protection Act.  Importantly, this Act gives dire powers to the “guards” of the public work:  power to search without warrants, obligation of visitors to state name and purpose of the visit, power to deny entry. Most of these powers contradict current constitutional safeguards.  The Regulation which was not announced and has appeared on e-laws and will be published in its regular form on July3rd 2010.  One person has already been arrested under the Act, which provides:

A guard or peace officer,
(a) may require any person entering or attempting to enter any public work or any approach thereto to furnish his or her name and address, to identify himself or herself and to state the purpose for which he or she desires to enter the public work, in writing or otherwise;

(b) may search, without warrant, any person entering or attempting to enter a public work or a vehicle in the charge or under the control of any such person or which has recently been or is suspected of having been in the charge or under the control of any such person or in which any such person is a passenger; and

(c) may refuse permission to any person to enter a public work and use such force as is necessary to prevent any such person from so entering.

Every person who neglects or refuses to comply with a request or direction made under this Act by a guard or peace officer, and every person found upon a public work or any approach thereto without lawful authority, the proof whereof lies on him or her, is guilty of an offence and on conviction is liable to a fine of not more than $500 or to imprisonment for a term of not more than two months, or to both.
CCLA is obviously extremely concerned about the implications of this measure and will seek to challenge them.

WARNING : The new designation changes dramatically the advice that lawyers may have been providing to protesters or the general public if they find themselves at the proximity of the fenced area.  Please consult and write to us if you are concerned about this development.

A modest proposal

Why not hold the next G8/G20 meetings in Second Life? I understand fake lakes are the norm there.

Whatever happened to the austerity budget?

The exploding G8/G20 security budget. Ya, you've heard it all already. But, so far, Don Martin says it best:

The inexplicably ludicrous billion-dollar security tab for the twin G20 and G8 summits, which soar far beyond any rational explanation when compared with similar summits held as recently as last September, is gaining political traction in Ottawa.

The Auditor General has been asked to probe the unfathomably escalating security budget by the Liberals. The parliamentary budget officer also has been called in to investigate by the New Democrats, and Kevin Page has agreed to give it a closer look.

No amount of righteous government bluster about living in post-9/11 protection paranoia, last week's bank firebombing in Ottawa or the precedent of hosting two back-to-back summits can explain how an $18-million security tab for the G20 in Pittsburgh last September, which involved 4,000 police, must balloon to a billion dollars in Toronto requiring 10,000 cops on the ground.

This is Canada, not Kandahar. In a London that has seen subway and bus terrorist bombings, the official security tab for its G20 gathering last March was $30-million.

Yet one month to the day before the G20 convenes for a dinner and half-day Sunday meeting behind the barricades, the protection tab reportedly surged another $160-million without explanation.
If that's true, total security costs now surpass $1.1-billion for about 16 hours of actual social and formal meetings at both summits - and that doesn't include the $100-million budgeted for host country organization and hospitality. At that ferocious spending rate, taxpayers will be on the hook for $75-million per hour of leadership schmoozing.

If there were tangible expectations of globe-enhancing accomplishment, this might be theoretically defensible.
But my diplomat golfing partner is undoubtedly correct - the broad-stroke results have already been pre-negotiated and the final press release need only be fine-tuned on June 28.

That's the true outrage in hosting a monetary squander without historic equal, particularly given what could be accomplished putting that much cash to work in the real world.

The tab for this security overkill could cover a third of the estimated international cost for the African family planning initiative, or pay two-thirds of Canada's 10-year humanitarian assistance program in Afghanistan.

A government that still hasn't delivered on its promise to beef up police forces could hire 2,500 officers for five years, buy a million advanced Tasers, pay a year's salary for 23,000 soldiers, procure a total of 366 LAVs or purchase five Black Hawk helicopters for every hour the leaders are yakking.

None of the government's subject-to-inflation estimates include serious disruptions to Toronto business, the drop in scared-off tourism from shutdowns of the CN Tower and Rogers Centre, or the productivity loss from motorists seething in traffic jams courtesy of closed expressways into the core.

Utter cluster-fornication.