New G20 report: Who will hold police accountable?

[JohnyCanuck]

The report is based on 356 complaints by civilians, police testimony and statistics like the more than 1,000 arrests during the G20 Summit itself. But instead of shedding new light on police tactical and organizational failures, and humbling the many police departments involved, the report instead essentially defends the government and the police from accountability by ensuring the unequal power relationship between citizen and the state remains intact.

While the report does acknowledge numerous times that the police "overstepped their authority," it does not question the essential authority of the police itself, or the role the police play in the criminalization of dissent.

"As many of us said before June 2010, Toronto Police were out terrorizing people during the G20 and must be held accountable for their actions," said community organizer Syed Hussan, who was arrested and tried, and whose charges were eventually dropped. "All senior officials in the force should be arrested and await trial to clear their name, just as people were arrested on the streets and asked to clear their names in lengthy court processes. That would be a good start," added Hussan.

In reacting to the release of OIPRD report, Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair - who many activists are demanding be fired for his role in G20 Summit policing - was defiant, unapologetic and unwilling to comment specifically on the role his officers played in the brutal, Charter-violating crackdown of activists on the streets.

In a press conference held at Toronto police headquarters Wednesday, Chief Blair said that things "could have been done better" during the summit but refused to apologize for the actions of his officers despite the fact that is it his job to hold his officers accountable.

http://rabble.ca/news/2012/05/new-g20-report-who-will-hold-police-accountable

[JohnyCanuck]

1. Review of G20 policing confirms findings of NUPGE/CCLA hearings

Ottawa (17 May 2012) - Ontario’s independent police watchdog, the Office of the Independent Police Review Director's (OIPRD), released a scathing systematic review of police conduct during the protests of the G20 in Toronto echoing many of the findings already exposed during hearings held in November 2010. The hearings, organized by the National Union of Public and General Employees (NUPGE) and the Canadian Civil Liberties Association (CCLA), highlighted gross human rights violations conducted by the police.

The OIPRD's report confirms that during the G20 summit two years ago the police violated civil rights, detained people illegally and used excessive force.

It further criticizes the temporary detention centre Toronto police set up for its poor planning, design and operation that saw people detained illegally.

“Some police officers ignored basic rights citizens have under the Charter and overstepped their authority when they stopped and searched people arbitrarily and without legal justification,” the report states.

snip

The hearings, Breach of the Peace – G20 Summit: Accountability in Policing and Governance (read the report here), had more than 60 peaceful protestors, journalists, innocent bystanders and others present. They all recounted horrific stories of police violence, threats, mistreatment and unlawful detainment.

"During the hearings we heard shocking stories of police excesses at the G20 Summit,” said James Clancy, NUPGE National President. “In many cases, it seems as if these excesses, which included widespread violations of the Charter of Rights and Freedoms, were committed with complete impunity. It is completely unacceptable that the constitutional rights of Canadians were treated with such utter disregard. We can and must do better.”

http://www.nupge.ca/content/5012/review-g20-policing-confirms-findings-nupgeccla-hearings