Report slams G20 policing

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DARREN CALABRESE / THE CANADIAN PRESS ARCHIVES Toronto police club activists during a demonstration against the G20 summit that was held in the city in June 2010. (CP)

TORONTO -- Police violated civil rights, detained people illegally and used excessive force during the G20 summit two years ago, a new report concludes, but some caught up in the police operation said there was still no real accountability for their mistreatment.

The report by Ontario's independent police watchdog also blasts the temporary detention centre set up by Toronto police for its poor planning, design and operation that saw people detained illegally.

The Office of the Independent Police Review Director found police breached several constitutional rights during the tumultuous event, in which more than 1,100 people were arrested, most to be released without charge.

It said some officers "stopped and searched people arbitrarily and without legal justification."

"Numerous police officers used excessive force when arresting individuals, and seemed to send a message that violence would be met with violence," the 300-page report states.

"The reaction created a cycle of escalating responses from both sides."

The report takes aim at police tactics at the provincial legislature, which had been set up in advance as a protest zone. The force used for crowd control and in making arrests was "in some cases excessive."

It also concludes mass arrests outside a downtown hotel were "unlawful," and a dawn raid and arrest of people at a university residence was done without the required warrants.

The office, under director Gerry McNeilly, slams police for "kettling" scores of people -- many passersby -- at a downtown intersection for several hours in a severe thunderstorm, calling it "unreasonable, unnecessary and unlawful."

Even officers in place thought the situation untenable, with one describing the incident commander as "maniacal," the report says.

"Where are they going to give them a chance to disperse?" one officer asked.

"They aren't, that's the problem," another replied.

"Well, that's stupid."

Among complaints about the temporary detention centre were overcrowding, lack of food and water or access to lawyers, the use of flex cuffs and strip searches. Detainees had to use toilets in full view of others and many were held illegally.

Among those were Tommy Taylor, who spent almost 24 hours in handcuffs, and his girlfriend, who had her bra seized as a possible weapon.

"The leadership of that weekend -- there are people who do not deserve to have their jobs anymore," said an emotional Taylor, who was "scooped up" off the sidewalk even though he wasn't part of the protest.

Because of shoddy paperwork, McNeilly said it was impossible to know exactly how many people were arrested during the summit -- the largest mass arrest in Canadian history.

Among its 42 recommendations, the report urges police be legally obliged to disclose potential evidence of officer wrongdoing. "Senior officers especially should not condone or distance themselves from the misconduct of subordinates or colleagues."

In response, Toronto police Chief Bill Blair was adamant he would offer no apologies, but said officers of all ranks would be held accountable for any proven wrongdoing.

About two dozen complaints forwarded by McNeilly would likely go to a police tribunal hearing, Blair said, adding most of the 19,000 officers on the streets that weekend acted "appropriately."

McNeilly said his arm's-length civilian agency received 356 complaints. The agency deemed 107 of them substantiated -- 96 were "serious."

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association called on the Ontario government and police to implement McNeilly's recommendations, issue an "unconditional" apology and take disciplinary or criminal action against officers implicated in misconduct.

Earlier this year, McNeilly recommended charges against five police officers for the beating of G20 protester Adam Nobody at the legislature.

-- The Canadian Press

Republished from the Winnipeg Free Press print edition May 17, 2012 A9