2012-03-14
Jayme Poisson
It was an image that came to represent just about everything that went wrong with policing during the G20 Summit. One badgeless officer, face covered with a gas mask and visor, apparently kicking a protester in the back at Queen’s Park.
Nearly two years later, Nikos Kapetaneas, the 25-year-old environmentalist pictured in the photograph, body tense and face wincing, finally has the name of the officer: Const. Oliver Simpson — also implicated in the high-profile Adam Nobody case.
Caitlin Morgan claims she was next to her partner Kapetaneas when she was kicked forcefully in the side by the same cop on the Saturday of the June 2010 summit. The couple is suing the Toronto Police Services Board (who employs Toronto Police officers) for negligence, assault and battery, and intimidation. The two separate lawsuits, filed last week in small claims court, seek $25,000 each in damages.
None of the allegations have been proven in court. Police have not yet been served the lawsuit, said the couple’s lawyer Davin Charney.
The incident occurred just south of Queen’s Park and was captured on video. The couple say they came to the legislature after work because they believed it was the designated free speech zone and sat down on a grassy median as a show of peaceful protest. They were then attacked by a line of police using kicks, punches, batons and pepper spray, according to court documents.
Simpson was identified as the officer in the widely seen photograph through an investigation conducted by Toronto Police for Ontario’s police complaints watchdog, the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD).
The investigative report, given to Kapetaneas late last year, concluded he was kicked in the back by Simpson as he blocked the advancement of officers clearing the area of protesters.
“[Kapetaneas] was non-compliant, but passive,” said the report, adding the force used by Simpson was “disproportionate” compared to the Riverdale resident’s resistance.
“Based on all the available information, misconduct can be substantiated,” said the report, which also noted that Simpson was eventually identified because of a concurrent G20 police review and has also been previously disciplined for not wearing his badge.
While the couple said they’re satisfied with the conclusion of their complaint, they feel the officer was given the benefit of the doubt. For example, the report concluded an unknown female in the photograph could have caused Kapetaneus’ injuries when she fell on his neck.
What Kapetaneas did not know, until recently, is that Simpson — who joined Toronto Police in 2007 — was also found to have used unnecessary force in the Adam Nobody case. In that incident, which happened within minutes of Kapetaneas’, a group of officers tackled Nobody to the ground and one officer, seemingly, struck him repeatedly with a baton.
In January, an OIPRD review concluded five constables — Michael Adams, Babak Andalib-Goortani, David Donaldson and Simpson, all of 31 division, and Geoffrey Fardell of 54 division — should be charged under the police services act in the Nobody case.
(The Special Investigations Unit, which investigates serious injuries, previously charged Andalib-Goortani, criminally, with assaulting Nobody.)
“The whole Adam Nobody case disgusted me because it was so ugly,” said Morgan, 28. The couple added they weren’t surprised to see the same officer named in both cases because of his aggressive behaviour that day.
After the incident at Queen’s Park, Morgan said she missed one week of work, and was on Tylenol 3’s for three more. “We lost basically payments for a month’s rent in that altercation,” said Kapetaneas of why they’re suing, adding the move is also symbolic. “The only way that any major institution like this changes is consequences.”
Charney made the point that “it’s not one officer that was like a rogue officer or a bad apple. … Really, the bad apples in the situation here are the command officers that directed their troops to use illegal force on peaceful protesters.”
Because Nobody’s case was deemed by the OIPRD as “serious” and “substantiated,” legislation requires Police Chief Bill Blair to charge the officers, sending their matter to a hearing. Penalties for misconduct range from reprimand to dismissal.
To further complicate the issue, because the investigation took longer than six months, the civilian Police Services Board needs to grant an extension — a decision that takes place behind closed doors. As of Tuesday, only Andalib-Goortani is facing police act charges, for a third incident at Queen’s Park.
G20 lawsuits pile up
March 7, 2012: Toronto police settle a human rights claim filed by a paraplegic man arrested during the G20 summit. Terms are not public due to a confidentiality clause.
Feb. 16, 2012: Toronto lawyer Nicholas Wright sues Toronto police for $25,000 for alleged unlawful arrest.
June 24, 2011: Sean Salvati, a paralegal arrested prior to the G20 summit and allegedly strip-searched, assaulted and held naked in a jail cell for nearly an hour sues Toronto police for at least $75,000.
June 23, 2011: Courtney Winkels, threatened with arrest by an officer in a YouTube video for blowing bubbles, sues the Toronto Police Services Board for $100,000 for false arrest and Charter of Rights violations.
March 15, 2011: Two plaintiffs file lawsuits naming the Toronto Police Services Board as defendants and claiming $25,000 in damages. Luke Stewart, a 25-year-old PhD candidate, alleges that during the G20 summit, police said he couldn’t enter a park unless he submitted to a search. The other complainant, identified as Kalmplex, is suing police for $25,000 for a wrongful arrest in Parkdale and for extended imprisonment of 20 hours.
May 11, 2011: Charlie Veitch, a British filmmaker arrested under the so-called five-metre law during the G20, sues the province and police for $350,000.
January 2011: Dorian Barton, a 30-year-old cookie maker, files a $250,000 lawsuit against the Toronto Police Services Board and seven unnamed officers, alleging his shoulder was broken and he was denied proper care after his arrest.
Sept. 7, 2010: Natalie Gray of Montreal, who claims she was shot by Toronto police with rubber bullets, files a $1.2 million suit against the Toronto Police Services Board and unnamed individual officers for damages.
Sept. 2, 2010: A $115 million class-action lawsuit involving 1,150 people arrested and detained during the G20 protests in Toronto is filed with the Superior Court. The plaintiffs are represented by lawyer Charles Wagman. The lawsuit has been stayed.
Aug. 6, 2010: A class-action suit is filed by lawyers Eric Gillespie and Murray Klippenstein against the Toronto Police Services Board and the Attorney General of Canada (responsible for the RCMP). The suit, which represents 800 people, seeks $45 million in damages.
Compiled by Kathleen Power, Toronto Star Library and Jayme Poisson