Desmond Cole back in court January on trespassing charge

Political activist Desmond Cole will return to court on Jan. 16 after staging a sit-in at Toronto police headquarters earlier this year.

Cole appeared in court on Thursday with a group of supporters by his side to face a charge of trespassing.

“The prosecution is going to go head with their trial and I’m going to have to come back here next year, so that’s unfortunate because this is a huge waste of everyone’s time and money and energy, but I don’t have a choice,” he said, standing outside the courthouse.

Cole added that every time he appears in court he will say the name of Dafonte Miller because he is “the inspiration for all of us to be here.”

In July, Cole staged a sit-in during a Toronto Police Services Board meeting.

He accused police of a cover up and forced the meeting into recess when he refused to leave. He was eventually removed from the meeting by officers and charged with trespassing.

Cole was protesting the way police handled an investigation of Const. Michael Theriault, charged in the beating of 19-year-old Dafonte Miller in December.

“They are demonstrating that they value decorum more than they value our lives so to hell with them all,” Cole told the media in July.

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