G20 Violence

Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair defended the actions of officers who corralled and then detained hundreds of people at Queen and Spadina Sunday evening.

“It is a little bit frustrating to hear it suggested that a bunch of innocent people standing at a bus stop were caught up in this. It’s simply not true,” he said Monday morning. “The reality is there was a large demonstration. It ranged across the city all afternoon yesterday in an effort to break apart the police barrier so that they could attack the summit and to create an opportunity for that criminal conspiracy to do its worst in our city.”

Several people caught behind the police lines claim they were given no warning to disperse. CityNews reporter Francis D’Souza found himself trapped at the intersection by authorities around 6:30pm Sunday and said he didn’t hear any warnings issued by authorities.

Blair countered those claims Monday and insisted police gave protesters, spectators, media and others who claim they were just walking by when they found themselves trapped three warnings to get out of the area before officers closed in even more and started making arrests.

More than a hundred people were detained for nearly four hours in the heavy rain. Authorities made more than 900 arrests over the weekend.

“It was unfortunate it was wet out there – it was wet for everybody, my people too, but the good thing is the rain dampened their enthusiasm and it allowed us to release those people unconditionally once the threat had been relieved,” Blair said.

Authorities said Black Bloc-style vigilantes had embedded themselves in what appeared to be a peaceful and apparently impromptu protest. On Sunday night, Staff Supt. Jeff McGuire said weapons had been recovered along the protest route.

‘”The criminal conspiracy that existed on Saturday continued on Sunday,” Blair said. “They didn’t go away. The threat didn’t go away. We were working very hard to prevent further destruction.”

Both Blair and McGuire encouraged anyone who has an issue with the way they were treated by police to file a formal and independent complaint. You can do that here.

“The shame is not on Toronto. The shame is on those criminals who came to our city and engaged in wanton acts of violence and vandalism across the city. They’re going to be held accountable for their actions.”