2010-07-21

G20 suspect surrenders to police

Ichim said police could have easily found Pflug-Back at her parents in Norwood, in Peterborough County, who were acting as surety, and whom she was residing with as part of bail conditions for an assault charge after she allegedly disrupted the Olympic torch relay in Guelph last December.

Pflug-Back turned herself into Peterborough police by 3 p.m. Wednesday and was to be transported to a holding cell in Toronto.

Reached by phone in Norwood, Pflug-Back’s father declined to comment.

Toronto Det. Sgt. Gary Giroux alleged Pflug-Back was an organizer and someone who gave orders to other demonstrators at the G20. Police claim photographs show her “in and out of her black clothing.”

“She is responsible single-handedly for thousands of dollars in damage,” Giroux said, adding he suspects Pflug-Back faces a substantial jail sentence if convicted.

She is accused in attacks on a police cruiser occupied by an officer on Queen Street and Spadina Avenue and stores and restaurants on Yonge Street, including a McDonald’s and an Urban Outfitters, and a CIBC branch on Bay Street, he said.

“The (police) car was physically being taken apart by these individuals, including this young woman … windows were being smashed, mirrors were being torn off, back windows and side windows are being destroyed in the car,” Giroux said.

Ichim said Pflug-Back has given a lot to the Guelph community, where she has lived for about two years. She moved to Guelph after growing up in Norwood, where she started writing poetry that has since been published.

Pflug-Back has described herself in media interviews as a grassroots anti-poverty activist for Sense of Security, a Guelph organization that provides food, shelter and aid for people in need, as well as advocacy for people who need legal aid.

Ichim praised her for starting the free food program, taking part in harm reduction programs and organizing cultural and art shows for the organization.

“We are not going to let her hang out to dry,” he said, adding it is ironic that there haven’t been any arrests of Toronto police officers as a result of their activities at the G20 summit.

Ichim was arrested on the morning of June 26 and charged with counselling to commit an indictable offence and spent three days in jail before being released on $2,000 bail. Days before the G20 summit, he told reporters he intended to bring down a section of a four-kilometre G20 security fence.

Pflug-Back is one of several new suspects identified by police in connection with their investigation into damage during demonstrations on downtown streets while world leaders met behind fences and barricades at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre.

Photographs of her were among 21 released by police, including six that were duplicates from early lists of “G20 Most Wanted” released on July 7 and 14.

Ten other people from those lists have been arrested, including a young offender, Giroux said.

Charges against the other accused range from mischief to theft, he said.

Police have received 17,000 still photographs and more than 550 videos from the public. In all, Giroux said, investigators have identified “80 persons of interest” in connection with G20 damage

“Eighty per cent of the photographs come from calls or tips from the public. To this point, the interest is nothing less than remarkable with regards to their assistance,” he said.

As well, negotiations continue with the lawyers of some suspects to “surrender their clients,” he said.