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No 'sound cannons' at G20: civil liberties group
The Canadian Civil Liberties Association is asking a judge to grant an injunction to stop police from using so-called “sound cannons” against G20 protesters.
On Wednesday, lawyers for the association presented their arguments in an Ontario courtroom.
Toronto police have purchased four of the cannons, which can emit piercing noises similar to a smoke detector. Police have said they will only use the sonic cannons as a loudspeaker to communicate with the crowd.
However, Canadian Civil Liberties Association lawyer David Cavalluzzo said that promise isn’t good enough.
“They said the same thing in Pittsburgh at the last G20 summit where the police officers in a riotous situation did not use the protocols established for their use,” Cavalluzzo argued.
He told the judge guidelines for the use of the sound cannons are unclear and police in Toronto have not been properly trained.
“The training was absolutely absurd,” he said. “In this instance we had a two-hour training course [and] we had a test that was given where every participant on the test got a 100 per cent.”
Cavalluzzo said the devices have the potential to permanently damage hearing.
He accused police of relying on manufacturer studies about safety, rather than independent research.
Cavalluzzo said Toronto residents should not be used as “guinea pigs” to see whether the sound cannons are safe.
Nathalie Des Rosiers, who is also with the association, argued the sound cannons pose a legitimate safety concern.
“We are worried that if they are displayed in an urban setting they are going to cause permanent hearing loss,” she said.
“They are dangerous weapons and they should have been approved appropriately. They should have been tested appropriately.”
The association says the RCMP doesn’t use the high-pitched device to control crowds, and local police shouldn’t either.
Lawyers for police are scheduled to make arguments late Wednesday afternoon, and the judge said he would deliver his decision Friday morning.
Source: http://www.cbc.ca/canada/toronto/story/2010/06/23/toronto-g20-sound-cannons-civil-liberties.html