Not an anarchist, still upset about the G20 and Bill Blair
Below is the core text of the email I sent to the police, the mayor and my councillor. I don't expect everyone to have the same opinion as I do about what went down in Toronto, but the police chief's pat dismissal of the idea that there could be any legitimate criticism of the action by police this past weekend is stunningly offensive and infuriating.
I've put links on how to contact your representatives at the bottom of this post.
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Hi there.
I am writing in response to the interview with the chief of police as published on the Globe and Mail's website. You can read it here: http://www.theglobeandmail.com/news/world/g8-g20/news/police-chief-offers-no-apologies-for-g20-tactics/article1621788/
In particular, I am writing about the chief's comment that ends the article. Here's the exchange for your reference:
Q: Do you feel there's been some trust lost between the public and the police this weekend?
A: No. I have to tell you I've been overwhelmed with e-mails, letters and phone calls of support … certainly, advocates for the anarchists are offended. I can live with their offence.
I am not an anarchist, nor am I an advocate for the block bloc tactics on display on Saturday. I'm not even an activist.
I am writing to counteract the chief's mistaken understanding that the only people upset about how the police behaved Saturday night and Sunday are anarchist advocates.
Frankly, I'm incredibly upset that the chief seems to be so blind to public opinion - and the possibility that his guys could have made any mistakes - that he willfully dismisses all criticism as being from the lawless.
Is he serious? More than 900 people arrested over the course of the weekend, many released without being charged? Indeed, according to the chief himself, less than 400 of those will be charged with anything. He thinks that's acceptable?
Countless reports of inhumane detention conditions, slurs directed at detainees, no access to a phone call or legal representation, video of the police charging a crowd after they sing the national anthem, a complete failure to protect Yonge Street, the wrong people's homes being raided, a law passed in secret whose public announcement will not come until the 3rd of July after it has expired, a $1 billion dollar price tag for the whole thing, and he thinks that the only people upset about this are 'advocates for anarchists'? And he can "live with our offence".
Get real.
There's plenty of reports about what happened in our city to upset everyone who lives here. He thinks that there's no trust lost between the public and the police? He's wrong.
I have written the chief, but I don't expect any response. It's clear from the chief's comments that he's not particularly interested in hearing criticism of any kind. I hope that you will pass this on to him anyway. And I hope that you will all seriously reconsider this beligerent attitude to the suggestion that anything that happened this weekend was wrong, unfair, or could have been handled much better than it was.
Since I wrote the chief, we have learned that he intentionally misled the public about our rights when being stopped by the police during the weekend and that the cache of weapons that he paraded in front of the media contained things seized from an unrelated incident and fantasy roleplaying equipment seized from a man who was not involved in the protest. This kind of contempt for the press and the public is completely unacceptable.
This was an unprecedented event. The largest mass arrests in Canadian history, the first use of tear gas in Toronto, rubber bullets fired, a billion dollar price tag. More than just pointing us to the regular channels and hoping that we move on is needed.
We need some sunlight on these events with a full and frank accounting of what happened.
What are you going to do to fix this?
900 arrested, less than 400 to be charged
Police charge crowd singing O Canada
Police fail to protect Yonge Street
Police detain many bystanders and journalists
Police raid the wrong home
Secretly passed law (see below, this turned out to be false)
Police use rubber bullets on non-violent crowd
Chief of police misled public about expanded security around the fence
Some of the "seized G20 weaponry" on display was from an unrelated incident. Some of it was fantasy roleplaying gear.
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You can find contact info for your councillor here:
For the mayor here:
For the police here:
For your MPP here:
For your MP here:
For the PM here:
