2010-06-27
A scuffle between protesters and police broke out outside a prisoner processing centre in Toronto’s east end early Sunday afternoon, with one well-known anarchist taken into custody as hundreds of officers in riot gear swarmed the area.
About 100 people who had marched from downtown Toronto to the Eastern Avenue detention centre were engaged in a peaceful sit-in to show their solidarity with those who were detained when police moved in on a known anarchist who had been sitting with the group.
The group was chanting “peaceful protest, peaceful protest,” when police moved into the crowd, reported CTV’s Lisa LaFlamme.
“Police moved into a crowd, where they saw one of the known anarchists,” LaFlamme told CTV News Channel early Sunday afternoon. “He was sitting in a white t-shirt and jeans, he was sitting there quietly. The minute he stood up, police moved in on him, grabbed him, dragged him out, a little riot ensued.”
Television images showed riot gear-clad officers running toward the scene, getting off buses, while officer officers surrounded protesters with batons out yelling “back up.”
LaFlamme reported that three rubber bullets were fired into the crowd, hitting one girl in the face, but she appeared to be okay. Numerous protests were seen being taken into custody.
Toronto Police spokeman Tony Vella confirmed that two “muzzle blasts” were deployed at the scene. (Muzzle blasts are non-lethal discharges of high-pressure gas from a firearm.) Vella said a number of arrests have been made, and the individuals taken into custody had been identified as “wanted.”
The skirmishes follow a number of arrests earlier Sunday. Police detained around 100 more people in connection with Saturday’s violent protests against the G20 summit.
The latest arrests bring the number of people placed in detention since Saturday to nearly 600, not including those arrested outside the detention centre.
While the streets of Toronto were eerily calm early Sunday morning, dozens of police officers headed out to their positions across the downtown core and raided a building on the University of Toronto campus.
A spokesperson for the Integrated Security Unit said officers found a cache of “street-type weaponry” such as bricks.
“Our officers are out pro-actively looking for anybody with criminal intent,” said Const. Samantha Nulle. “Today they located a large number of people, they intercepted them and they did locate a number of street weapons on them.”
Those arrested were taken to the prisoner processing centre in the city’s east end. They are not believed to be students.
CTV News Channel footage showed men and women of varying ages being escorted by police on the downtown University of Toronto campus. Many of them had their hands bound in flex ties.
Those arrested over the past 24 hours face a wide array of charges, from mischief and breach of the peace to assault, drug possession and weapons dangerous, reported CP24’s Sue Sgambati from the processing centre.
“I’m told that some of these people will be released from this facility, the people on the relatively more minor charge of breach of the peace, and others will be taken to the special G20 court that has been set up in North York,” Sgambati told CTV News Channel Sunday morning. “So it’s no rest for police today.”
Police said Sunday they are ready for whatever shape protests take after Saturday’s march through downtown streets descended into chaos.
“Our officers have been doing this all week long, we’re coming at this with a consistent, measured approach,” Nulle said. “We are here to make sure that the fence stays secure and that all participants of the summit stay safe, in addition to the protesters themselves.”
Nathalie Desrosiers of the Canadian Civil Liberties Association said monitors from her organization are among those being held at the detention centre, and she is concerned about the conditions under which they are being detained.
“We are particularly concerned bout the conditions of detention, because we’ve been trying to reach our monitors inside,” Desrosiers told CTV News Channel in a telephone interview. “Their cellphones have been seized, they have been denied access to a lawyer. So this is a little bit out of control.”
On Saturday, while thousands of marchers peacefully walked from the Ontario legislature along a pre-planned route, a group of self-described anarchists broke away to confront police and vandalize stores, banks and other buildings.
At least three police cars were also set fire. No serious injuries among protesters have been reported, although police did use tear gas and rubber bullets on some demonstrators.
“For the most part, the majority of the protesters were peaceful and were trying to convey their message,” said CP24’s Gurdeep Ahluwalia. “But you did have that group of anarchists, that faction of anarchists within those groups, that sort of spoiled things for everyone. They convoluted the message and they were the ones who really caused a lot of the damage and vandalism that in a way is really rationalizing the billion dollar price tag for the summit.”
OPP Commissioner Julian Fantino, whose officers are seconded to the Integrated Security Unit, said a number of officers were taken to hospital for treatment for undisclosed injuries. Fantino said officers had urine, paint and various objects thrown at them during the chaos, actions the commissioner called “disgraceful.”
“They faced some horrific conditions,” Fantino told News Channel. “The criminality of it all and on it goes. And we make absolutely no apologies for any person that any OPP officer arrested in these circumstances.”
Saturday’s protests cancelled a concert at the Air Canada Centre, put downtown hospitals into lockdown and closed the popular Eaton Centre shopping mall.
While the protests compromised public transit service, both GO Transit and TTC service resumed Sunday morning.