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NATIONAL POST– A Toronto-based lawyer representing four journalists, who filed complaints with Ontario’s police watchdog and claimed that police physically assaulted and threatened to sexually assault the female reporters during the G20 summit, is calling for a full investigation into the alleged violence.

On Tuesday, Jesse Rosenfeld, Amy Miller, Daniel McIsaac and Lisa Walter each filed complaints about their arrests during the G20 summit with the Office of Independent Police Review Director.

Julian Falconer is representing the “Free Press 4” group.

“From our point of view, if peaceful protesters and journalists engaged in peaceful coverage are treated this way, this is a sad day for democracy. My clients are seeking accountability for what appears to be a serious overreaction by some police officers,” he said in a written statement.

Toronto Police spokesman Mark Pugash said there were more than 100 cameras documenting everything that happened in the prisoner processing centres and on the streets so “it’s not someone’s word against someone else’s.”

“We have video of everything. We’ll make sure that we provide the best possible evidence to determine the truth or otherwise in these allegations,” he said.

Police “anticipated” people would make complaints.

“We have to consider the possibility that complaints are completely unfounded. There are people who have said things so far that are clearly lies,” Pugash said.

Rosenfeld, a 26-year-old freelancer for the Guardian, a U.K.-based newspaper, was arrested when he was covering a group of demonstrators in front of a downtown Toronto hotel on Saturday night.

He said one officer told his colleague, “that’s the loudmouth kid who was mouthing off to me yesterday” and the officials didn’t bother to confirm his credentials. Instead, Rosenfeld said the officers “jumped” him.

“I was grabbed on each side and hit in the stomach and back and pounced on by officers. I kept asking them why they were beating me because I wasn’t resisting arrest. But they lifted my leg and twisted my ankle.”
Rosenfeld alleged he was also kneed in the ribs.

In Amy Miller’s complaint she said officers threatened to sexually assault her.

“You’re going to be raped. We always like the pretty ones. We’re going to wipe the grin off your face when we gang bang you. We know how the Montreal girls roll,” her complaint read.

Miller is a Montreal-based freelance journalist with The Dominion, a monthly paper published by a network of independent journalists.

Miller said the officers called her accreditation “garbage” and told her to get a “real job.”

OIPRD director Gerry McNeilly said all complaints are screened for “validity” and the investigation is then handed to the police division or to McNeilly’s office.

McNeilly must decide to group the “Free Press 4” complaints or look at them individually.

“I have the ability but I haven’t made the decision. If I say a complaint has no validity, that’s final. There’s no appeal, so I have to look at each case very carefully,” McNeilly said.

“I hoped the G20 had proceeded with minimum interruption and disruption but the complaints are coming in and we’re going to deal with them in a way that’s transparent.”

OIPRD spokesperson Allison Hawkins said the office receives, on average, 80 complaints a week. Between June 20 and June 26, 95 complaints were filed.

The civilian-led organization, which formed last October, investigates public complaints against the province’s police associations.

By Carmen Chai

Police brutality against women in Toronto at the G20

 

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