2012-02-17
A local lawyer is suing the Toronto Police Services Board for what he says was an unlawful arrest and a violation of his Charter rights during the city’s G20 summit – an incident the police say was simply an attempt to maintain public safety.
Nicholas dePencier Wright is seeking $25,000 in damages, plus other fees, in small claims court for a run-in with police on June 27, 2010, the second day of G20 meetings at the Metro Toronto Convention Centre. The lawsuit follows a probe by the province’s police watchdog, the Office of the Independent Police Review Director, in which investigators substantiated Mr. dePencier Wright’s claim that he was unlawfully arrested.
Mr. dePencier Wright said he was riding his bicycle eastbound on Bloor Street West, near Spadina Avenue, when Constable Ryan Simpson stopped him. Mr. de Pencier Wright provided identification, but otherwise invoked his right to silence. He was searched, handcuffed, placed in the back of a police cruiser and released in about 20 minutes.
Mr. dePencier Wright says the $25,000 he is seeking is incidental: His main motive is to take a public stand against what he views as widespread Charter violations during the international summit. That weekend resulted in Canada’s largest mass arrest – more than 1,100 people.
“I’d make more money if I spent time practising law for clients,” said Mr. dePencier Wright, who recently provided city councillors with a legal opinion on the proposed shark fin ban. “It’s a matter of standing up for Charter values and insuring that civil liberties are upheld.”
The OIPRD has informed Mr. dePencier Wright that it views the matter of his arrest as serious and that a disciplinary hearing could be held for the officers involved. (The OIPRD has to inform the police chief that there will be a hearing within six months of deciding to investigate a complaint, or seek an extension from the police services board. It does not comment on specific cases.)
None of Mr. dePencier Wright’s allegations have been proven in court.
Constable Simpson, named as a defendant alongside the police board, told the OIPRD that he initially stopped Mr. dePencier Wright because he was riding his bicycle very fast, and then noticed he was wearing a bandana and swim goggles around his neck.
He said that he and other officers had been informed that the Sunday of the summit would be more heated than the day before, with the potential for more rioting. On Saturday, police cruisers were torched and windows smashed downtown, blocks from the convention centre, and scores were arrested in the streets and at Queen’s Park.
The OIPRD report reads, “[Police] were to investigate anyone that they saw wearing outfits similar to the previous day, people wearing bandanas and anyone with gas masks.”
Constable Simpson also said Mr. dePencier Wright was simply being investigated for a possible breach of the peace, and was not under arrest. Mr. dePencier Wright denies this, and says he was told clearly that he was under arrest for wearing a disguise.
Constable Jason Crawford, who was with Constable Simpson that day, said he believed Mr. dePencier Wright was participating in the Critical Mass-style bicycle demonstration that meandered through the city’s downtown core.
Mr. dePencier Wright would not say whether he was participating directly in the demonstration, claiming such information could affect the police’s defence. He said he was wearing the goggles in case police used tear gas to disperse protesters.
Evelyn Wayne, one of the OIPRD investigators who examined the claim, said whether or not Mr. dePencier Wright participated in the demonstration is unimportant, but she declined to comment further.
Constable Crawford also said Mr. dePencier Wright was only handcuffed for safety reasons. The lawyer alleges this statement is “an attempt to rationalize or justify what is clearly inappropriate behaviour on the part of the police.”
Both officers indicated they would have released Mr. dePencier Wright immediately if he had not remained silent.
The OIPRD report concludes that the officers could not articulate any reasonable grounds to believe that Mr. dePencier Wright had either breached the peace or was likely to breach the peace.
A separate OIPRD investigation on behalf of Jason Wall included interviews with police officers who said they had been instructed to arrest anyone wearing bandanas or gas masks. After Mr. Wall was arrested on Yonge Street while wearing a bandana, he launched a lawsuit with the help of lawyer Davin Charney. The two sides reached a settlement for an undisclosed amount.
Mr. Charney, who has roots in various activist circles, believes the police operated according to “a protester profile” and viewed anyone sporting a bandana as a threat.
The Toronto Police Service and the Police Services Board declined to comment. Constable Simpson did not return calls for comment and attempts to reach Constable Crawford were unsuccessful.