Click on any story below to read!
TORONTANAMO: Recollections Of A Concerned Citizen Who Was Detained At The G20 Summit
by T. Michael Douglas
3/2/2011 3:39:00 AM
Becky's Story
by Becky Russell
7/21/2010
"Catch & Release"
by Nathan Adler
7/16/2010 12:11:00 PM
Jail experience harrowing
by Skylar Radojkovic, Owen Sound Sun Times
7/13/2010
Bad News at Bancroft Avenue
by Dylan C. Robertson
7/13/2010
Arrested And Jailed In Toronto – A G20 Protestor’s Firsthand Account
by Sarah Pruyn
7/7/2010
Of my illegal detention (with 899 others) and the G20 protests
by Ben Powless, Organizer, Defenders of the Land
7/5/2010
Independent Journalist, Daniel Adam MacIsaac
by Ali Mustafa
7/5/2010
Ashamed
by Tracey Cox
7/3/2010
"The story of my unjust arrest" - Lacy MacAuley
by Lacy MacAuley
7/1/2010 10:32:00 PM
Without provocation, they attacked our peaceful protest”
by Adrian Naylor
7/1/2010
One woman held by police 'didn't even know what the G20 was'
by Alison Hendersen
7/1/2010
“They were going to release us until this one cop came and saw that we had the legal number written on our arms. She then said that we were elegible for arrest.”
by Anonymous
7/1/2010
“several police officers lining the west side of the street had removed their names and badge numbers”
by Anonymous
7/1/2010
“they were detaining me until I told them where I was staying in Toronto”
by Anonymous
7/1/2010
“They demanded identification and searches of bags and persons, without cause, and under the threat of physical violence, detention and legal action”
by Anonymous
7/1/2010
“I was beat roughly 20 times with batons”
by Anonymous
7/1/2010
“blood poured out of his head, down his face and on to my friends jacket, dripping on my pants”
by Bethany Horne
7/1/2010
Queen & John Eyewitness Report
by Emily B.
7/1/2010
untitled
by James
7/1/2010
“I cannot stress this enough: it was a completely peaceful protest. People were being arrested in a brutal, violent, and seemingly random way.”
by Johanna Lewis
7/1/2010
“I was there as a monitor for the Canadian Civil Liberties Association. . . like many others, I was never given an opportunity to remove myself from the intersection”
by Julia Croome
7/1/2010
“It is important to note the horrid conditions in the jail. The cells, which were over-glorified dog cages, were often over-crowded.”
by Maximilian Pacheco
7/1/2010
“I have been having nightmares”
by Natasha Borris
7/1/2010
“At no time during the detention was anyone in my cage allowed to speak with a lawyer”
by Philip Boyle
7/1/2010
“police said they had the right to conduct these searches”
by Robert Bertuzzi
7/1/2010
what happened last night at queen and spadina g20
by Rodrigo Bravo
7/1/2010
Violence on Toronto streets for G20
by Ryan Bolton
7/1/2010
“Five officers grabbed me, hit me repeatedly with batons and fists, threw me to the concrete, crushed knees into my cheek bone, back and thighs, dragged me on the pavement and put handcuffs on me”.
by Seamus Wolfe
7/1/2010
“I couldn’t sleep last night. I took the day off work, I’m so upset”
by Sherry B. Good
7/1/2010
“I saw many injured detainees with arms in slings and faces bruised and swollen being led quickly with their ankles chained”
by Taiva Tegler
7/1/2010
“In a matter of seconds, without warning, we were trapped. Our questions were met with blank stares, our panic with more pushing, complaints with arrest”
by Terra Dafoe
7/1/2010
“we were staging a peaceful protest when riot police surrounded us on all sides and would not let us leave”
by Trevor Grant
7/1/2010
Of a million G20 stories in this taken city, this was mine
If anything, there was less black being worn on Queen than usual
by Tabatha Southey
7/1/2010
Personal Experience
by Greg Stones
7/1/2010
'Unlawful Assembly'
by Syl Grady
7/1/2010
untitled
by Karen Nickel
7/1/2010
untitled
by Anonymous
7/1/2010
Mourning Canadian democracy
by Roberta McQuade
7/1/2010
untitled
by Kiel Widmeyer
7/1/2010
In His Own Words (Interview Transcript)
by Jesse Rosenfeld
7/1/2010
untitled
by Neil Stanton
7/1/2010
Singer Marc Mysterio caught in Toronto riots during video shoot
by Marc Mysterio
7/1/2010
Thorold, Ontario Amputee Has His Artificial Leg Ripped Off By Police And Is Slammed In Makeshift Cell During G20 Summit – At Least One Ontario MPP Calls The Whole Episode “Shocking”
by John Pruyn
7/1/2010
How I Got Arrested and Abused at the G20 in Toronto, Canada
by Tommy Taylor
note: photos/videos are not included in this but all text is original. To read this story with images, please click on 'Source' above
7/1/2010
Man and family being picked up from work brutality attacked by police
by Anonymous
7/1/2010
and this time, it won't be me.
by A Canadian Serviceman
7/1/2010
Fear and mayhem in Toronto
by Lawrence McCurry
7/1/2010
My Experience
by Jesse Miller
7/1/2010
Inside Torontanamo
by Matt Shultz
7/1/2010
Beaten by police before being arrested
by Andrew Stakhov
7/1/2010
Don't breathe or I'll kill you
by Facebook User: Drew Ferguson
7/1/2010
“I was held for 21 hours for peacefully protesting.”
by Marc Gleeson
6/30/2010
Thugs take over Queen's Park
by Matthew Webb
6/29/2010 10:08:00 AM
How I Ended Up In A G20 Jail
by Michael Talbot
6/29/2010
Union Station Washroom
by Andrei Poliakov
6/28/2010 5:30:00 PM
I was just harassed by Toronto Police
by Mike Brock, Western Standard
6/28/2010
Sonia's Story
by Sonia Zawitkowski
6/27/2010
Luke's Story
by Luke Keeler
6/27/2010
Someone call 911!
by Eda Martinovic
6/27/2010
Selwyn arrested at G20 protest
by Selwyn Firth, Mayoral Candidate
6/27/2010
Civil Rights, Interrupted: A G20 Arrest
by Mark Donald
6/26/2010
My Story - Help ID This Criminal!
by Wyndham Bettencourt-McCarthy
6/26/2010
Pre-G20 Atrocities
by Sean Salvati
6/23/2010
Eye Witness Accounts
Pre-G20 Atrocities
by: Sean Salvati
source
On the evening of June 23, 2010, 4 friends and myself attended the Toronto Blue Jays game at the Rogers Centre. On our way to the game, we spoke to many transplanted RCMP officers, asking them where they were from, what they thought about the fence and the weekend to come. All of our discussions were in camaraderie and in support of them. Following the game, my group split up as everyone had to be up early for work, however, I made plans to take a cab and go and see a girlfriend. While to hailing a taxi, I asked two female RCMP officers what part of Canada they were from. They were unresponsive, and in passing I stated "Good luck with Saturday".
I hailed a taxi, which was stopped by a Toronto police cruiser about 2 minutes into the ride. I was forcefully removed from the taxicab a Toronto police officer to be questioned about G20 (protest?) activity. This steamed from wishing the RCMP officers good luck, which was apparently taken as a threat. I was asked what "labour group" I belonged to, and what I meant by "good luck". I was also asked about what I was doing in the area, and was cooperative. I was asked if I had been drinking and explained that I had a total for 4 beers during an approximate span of 5 hours prior to, during and following a baseball game that I attended with friends. I was not intoxicated as per the standard definition "To cause stupefaction, stimulation, or excitement by or as if by use of a chemical substance".
Upon being questioned about G20 protest activity and not having the correct answers as I am not involved in protest activity nor have PREVIOUSLY HAD any interest, I was advised that I was being arrested for being intoxicated in a public place (a taxi) and placed in hand cuffs. I had to ask 4 times to loosen the hand cuffs, which went unanswered until one officer finally noticed that I had lost circulation in my hands which had become quite red and swollen. I had rings around my writs for approximately 5 days following the incident, and still have numbing in my right hand in the thumb. Approximately 20-25 RCMP and Toronto Police officers arrived at the scene. Passerby individuals could see that something was not right and asked if they could assist me. When I attempted to communicate with them by asking for help, I was taken by the neck and placed in a police car and taken to Toronto's 52 division, with my hands behind my back, making the hand cuff situation worse. At no time, not withstanding my request for same, was I advised of my rights, or why I was being arrested, only what I was being arrested for.
Upon arriving at the station, we sat in the parking lot while officers discussed issues outside for about 15 minutes before bringing me inside. I was asked to stand in front of a camera and answer questions. Having become increasingly angry at this situation and wanting answers regarding the validity of my arrest, I refused to answer any more questions and stated to the booking video that I wished to remain silent until I had the opportunity to speak with duty counsel, and notwithstanding my repeated requests to speak to duty counsel, I was never offered an opportunity to do so throughout my 10 hour detainment. I also requested a breathalyzer test to verify my blood alcohol level, which was not provided.
Do to my non-cooperation in answering the questions of the officers for the camera without having an opportunity to speak with counsel first, an officer of the booking staff stated "subject unresponsive", and I assume at that point, the camera was turned off. The booking sergeant then immediately came from around the desk and grabbed me by the neck while officers 8830 & 8659 held me by the arms. I was dragged into an interrogation room with the door shut to be held by officer 8830 & 8659, while the booking sergeant began to beat me in the face, body and kick my legs. I was never asked to remove my clothing nor would I have objected if a strip search was what they were attempting to do - but my clothing was forcibly removed in way as to flip myself around like a rag doll on the concrete floor. The buttons of my shirt were ripped open. At this point I was completely naked and the beating continued. At no time did I resist or fight back, nor did they perform a search of my areas. I had defensive bruising to my foreams and many welts, burns from being dragged along concrete which I have documented with a physician and taken pictures of. The booking sergeant advised that he was going to rip out a nipple ring that I had (which was not returned to me) and made an attempt to pull it out, however, either officer 8830 or 8659 advised him not to. This was torture. It was removed in such a forceable way that it was swollen and painful for days following the assault. I did not resist and would have removed it myself if I was asked to. I was taken through the booking hallway completely naked in front of female officers and forced to sit in a holding cell for approximately 4 hours - completely naked.
I would like to know why I was stripped naked and forced to sit naked. I find this cruel and unusual and unnecessary. This is how I was treated for attempting to exercise my right to counsel upon detainment, just to know what was going on and the validity of my arrest.
Approximately 4 hours into my stay, I was greeted by 8830 and told to stand. He kicked my underwear through the bottom of the cell and told me to "get decent". He advised me that some "people" were coming to speak to me about what I said regarding Saturday and the G20 summit, so I should cover up. When the two people arrived to question me they were in plain clothes and would not identify themselves as officers or provide (real) names, one stated "I'm officer C and this is officer SIS". They asked me about what I "allegedly said to the officers on Front Street", and if I was a part of any "labour group". I advised them that I wished to speak with counsel, which was ignored. I asked them for a glass of water, which was ignored. I did not have any information to share with them as I didn't even know what the G20 was, and I was placed back in my cell to await release, however this time - I was allowed to take my clothing into the cell with me.
In the morning when I asked for information relating to the booking sergeant and to provide the ID's of who interviewed me, I was advised that no information would be provided as to who the booking sergeant was, and even more shockingly - that no one came to interview me during my detainment - that it simply did not happen. I was detained for a 10 hour period and not provided with any opportunity to speak with counsel, nor provided with any water as the facilities in the cell for water did not work, despite my repeated requests for same. I was unlawfully detained - charged with being intoxicated in a public place only to hold me and interrogate me for saying "good luck with Saturday", assaulted, humiliated and denied my basic freedoms under the Charter - being a Paralegal licensed under the Law Society of Upper Canada, I want to know how and why this was allowed to happen in a province that I wasted my time and money to pledge an oath to serve.