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Loading...Panic in Toronto: The Aftermath of the G20 Riots
While world leaders gathered in Toronto for the G20 summit, chaos ensued outside on the streets. An estimated 5,000 to 10,000 people gathered to protest. Although the majority came peacefully, a small but vocal group engaged in Black Bloc tactics, vandalizing and looting stores and setting police cars on fire.
Toronto’s Police Department is under major criticism for how it handled the event, mainly being that they were too lax in the beginning when the chaos was at its worst and then unnecessarily aggressive on Sunday when there was less mayhem. The police began to use tear gas and plastic or rubber bullets in the evening on Saturday despite the fact that by then the number of protestors had significantly gone down. On Sunday the police reportedly got tougher. At one point a mounted police unit charged into a crowd of protestors. In the evening, police detained hundreds of protestors and bystanders in an intersection for hours during a heavy rainstorm when they suspected some of the protestors were associated with the Black Bloc.
Another point of criticism is the fact that the police had the power to arrest anyone who refused to identify themselves or agree to be searched, a regulation quietly granted by the provincial government without debate in the Legislature. This led to the unnecessary arrests of many, including tourists, journalists and bystanders. Over 900 people were arrested this past weekend, the largest mass arrest in Canada.
On Monday, people took to the streets again, but to protest the police’s behavior instead. Around 1,000 people gathered around the headquarters of the Toronto Police Service calling for the release of those still being detained. Amnesty International Canada is calling for an independent investigation of the security measures put in place for the summit.
Toronto Mayor David Miller commended the police for their work and remarked, “I think those criticisms…illustrate the very, very difficult job the police had in trying to allow … people’s right to free speech and demonstrate, and at the same time effectively deal with people hiding in demonstration who came to Toronto simply to commit crimes.”
The Toronto Star has an extensive live blog of this past weekend’s events.
If you live in Toronto or were in the city this past weekend, feel free to share your experience in the comments section!
Read more: canada, g20 summit, human rights, police, police brutality, protests, toronto
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+ add your ownGood comment Ian W. and Alex F., and others. The huge crowd that demonstrated at the G-20 and G-8 were from many different countries. They represented many issues and interests, many that overlapped. Police have become more organized and calculating in trying to discredit demonstrators and make their issues look petty. From many peoples comments it is clear that demonstrating is risky business, and I respect the people who demonstrate, as they usually speak for me too. I cannot demonstrate because of peripheral neuropathy in my feet. They say for every demonstrator there are at least ten thousand people or more that feel the same way and would also demonstrate. Toronto is not a convenient location and yet hundreds of thousands attended to demonstrate.
For those who think they should have brief demonstrations, when you travels a thousand or more miles to be there you are not going to be sitting in your hotel room, or shopping. You are there for a reason, and committed to speaking out, a right that both Canadians and Americans are supposed to have. Toronto police made a huge mistake, and discredited that fine city by their bully techniques. My money will not be spent there for sure. My thanks to all who participated in that march for all peoples rights and interests. If you are not for war and big business profits made off the backs of third world countries, then you are just not worth the respect of your rights as are the people who ran the G-20 and G-8 meetings.
If you're leaning yes or said yes, you're a little ignorant on the matter, A little biggoted, afraid or just plain ill informed. And do you live here, I hope not? I think it's disgusting and you would think I am.
Interesting experience related by Ian W. Think this might be what happens a lot when violence is involved. Opportunists are being handed a golden opportunity and the real purpose of the protest is lost.
well still i would consider it a human error and not a human crime
Thank you Lampost candlelighter.....SIR?
Pretty good spin, but you're leaving out one little detail. The G20 Summit Toronto Police Truth.
G20 Summit Toronto Police Truth
The G20 Summit was a joke for the people of Toronto. Almost 2 billion dollars was spent on policing the city. Most of these police abused their powers and committed acts of violence against the people of Toronto. This included abuse and arrests of peaceful protesters and credited media personnel. Don't believe everything you hear or read in the mainstream media! Take a stand and educate yourself and demand a public inquiry into this issue, so that it will never happen in CANADA again!
http://article.wn.com/view/2010/06/27/G20_protesters_rampage_through_Toronto/
If you're going to tell a story, don't leave out all the details.
thanks fpr posting
If you protest then you need to know you could be arrested or end up in a violent situation. Police cannot be blamed for trying to do their job. They are wrong if they don't go in hard enough and they are wrong if they do ...according to your comments out there. Thank heavens we have people who are willing to join police forces to keep us all safe.
I need to straighten out a few kinks in my previous comment
Let me be clear on a few points. I do not support violence in any form at any time, I believe their is nearly always a peaceful solution. Regretably I have to admit that when faced with violence one sometimes has to respond with violence & sometimes fear & lack of discipline will cause people to use too much violence. Doesn't make it OK
The next point is, whilst defending the police in general, the fact is that as someone has already stated, they are not all good. I am sure there are some in the force that would take the opportunity to stir it up.
I hope & pray that those people who were mistreated & those that witnessed it, will not let the matter rest we need to assist the many good cops to do the job we pay them for.
My last para was misleading (lack of space) Every time we see these really big protests we have incidents of violence. These incidents damage the cause & I therefore question the effectiveness of large gatherings milling around for hours. Would it not be better to hold many well disciplined march pasts or something on those lines to eliminate the large gatherings that give the trouble makers an opportunity to stir it up.
I have often expressed the concern that we tend to believe everything we read especially when we see the phrase 'reliable source' & often we have two parties both quoting from 'reliable sources' & contadicting one another
Bob M your eloquen
Violence is never the answer. When so many human beings assemble to voice their disagreement with current policies or events, they should be peacefully heard. AND there should be positive, non-violent action taken to create harmony in the society and community.
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