G20 self-timeline:
– Attended peaceful protest at 2
– split up, followed protest that went on through queen st and on (with black bloc)
– Continue to help those affected by black bloc
o Preventing attacks on people
o Helped store owners quickly clean up stuff taken out on road, etc
– Police watched and did nothing throughout whole black blac riot
– Stopped at queens park which at the time was considered designated protesting area
– Not much going on, crowd dispersed, no violence occurring anymore
– Black block takes off clothes blends into crowds
– Police begin herding people, tension is raised
– Decide to start telling people to sit down and raise hands as we can’t find a way out at this point
– No audible warning was heard by anyone
– Police began to push us in further
– … and I talk to police to figure out stipulations needed to stop the riot police from moving further
– Say we need to be 5m back, we give them space, they keep moving
– Man with fake leg (had to walk with crutches on both arms) sits down
– Police rush, [we] help the disabled person up
– Large group of police tackle and swarm us, punch me in the pack, face, slam my face to ground while yelling (stop resisting)
– Disabled man and his daughter get jumped on by several cops, attacked and cuffed as well
– [Someone] was cuffed, face slammed to the ground and was punched in the face as he was being walked off (witness by me and possibly the others that were arrested at the same time)
– Was called names like idiot and shithead on the way to the patrol vehicle
– Kept in patrol vehicle for 2 hours, met others that were cuffed including [someone] who had several bruises on his face/could barely stand
– Another man comes in with swollen eye, is unable to sit up, starts falling asleep, we ask for medical attention, none was given
– Remain in vehicle and then get transferred to large bus with other ‘offenders’, man with swollen eye and possible concussion still had no medical attention
– After everyone in the truck asks the police in the back for medical attention, they eventually ( a solid 10 minutes of asking) find him medical attention
– Taken to detention center which was incredibly cold,
o 1st stage was in large warehouse section, 4 cages in total, all incoming ‘offenders’ were placed in these cages with cuffs behind back ‘unless we were good’
– After a few hours we were moved to second stage, which was in another warehouse
o Had to wear only one layer of clothing and no shoes (if you had sandals you had to be in barefeet)
– Then moved in to detectives office for processing and details
– Moved to third section which was large room
– Colder than previous rooms, no one was given anything to keep them warm, I remained with bare feet
– Given one sandwich and Styrofoam cup of water
– Lied to and taunted by police, ignored with request such as food, socks, water, blankets, etc.
– After a few hours moved to 4th stage which was two small 6×8 cages, filled up at one point to 15 people (1st cage was for finger printing and picture, second was to see staff sergeant
– Moved to 5th stage which was cages lined up to be taken to courthouse
– Still no socks, after an hour or so I requested socks from a lady who finally gave me some
– Moved finally to final tier of the 5th stage and send into court services truck
o Dark seating, metal, barely any light
– Moved out to court services, made fun of by police/taunted. Moved into holding says to away bail hearing
– Receive no water, not enough food for everybody
– Too cold to sleep, while the shivering makes us more tired
– Met up with legal assistant
– Waited in cell for a while longer
– Went to bail hearing, accused of one count of obstructing justice and two counts of unlawful assembly, was given bail on my own accountancy with 1000$ payable repercussion if I did not attend my court hearing to take place on aug 23rd
o Not allowed to be in Toronto for the week, cannot participate in unlawful protest for the remainder of the week
– Released, missing my backpack, wallet, keys and therefore had no money or transportation options, (I saw the cops initially put these things in the plastic bag and catalogue them) *will be requesting for them
– Had nowhere to go, so was picked up by people waiting to see if anyone had no one to help or nowhere to go, ate at their house, called friends stayed there for the night
– Returned home
IMPORTANT FACTS:
– Was not able to sleep whole time due to cold and light
– No socks, despite constant requests, for 10-12 hours
– Made fun of/taunted
– Barely any food and water
– Many accounts of poor police activity
o Beatings
o Kidnaps
o Media arrest, kidnaps, beatings
o Lost/perhaps stolen goods
o No way of getting home
– Punched in face/back, pushed to ground, threated by saying ‘stop resisting’
– Witnessed [some people] be mistreated by cops
– Witnessed cops push people and attack people as they move in
– Lack of food, water, clothing, medical aid
– Man taunted and watched by 23 police officers as he went to the washroom, had to beg for food for over 20 minutes
– Hear cops talking about how many people they arrested and saying things such as “let’s go get them” during peaceful protests in queens park
– Saw undercover cops revealed themselves while in court services truck, some of them were yelling and inciting dangerous activity while pretending to be part of protest