Responding to Adam Vaughan City Councillor, Ward 20 Trinity-Spadina
Dear Mr. Vaughan and TPS Board Coleagues:
We are Kathleen and Micheal O'Brien. We reside in the Bedford Park area and
our phone number is xxx-xxx-xxxx.
We followed our own and police advice leaving Toronto during the G20 Summit.
In our hotel room in Kingston Ontario we watched G20-security events unfold
on CTV's cable news. All seemed quiet for the whole week until late in the
day 26 June.
Upon returning to Toronto late 27 June we learned of friends who by
happenstance had been imprisoned of all things. Some were mainstream
journalists. Micheal is a veteran journalist of Maclean Hunter, MacLean's,
Time and more and consequently is 'in the loop' to hear quickly of these
complaints from media people. It was astonishing.
Because Micheal is an acquaintance of Mr. Fantino, he became involved in
the debate years ago for renewing Mr. Fantino's contract for another term.
(http://www.mobrien.com/keep_chief_julian_fantino.htm). In that debate the
argument was raised that a single term is sufficient and a double term is
excessive. We now accept that argument. But apparently the Board changed its
collective view and renewed Chief Blair's contract last year (one year
prematurely) for another term. That appears to be a mistake in this
instance.
The chaos and misspeak of the Chief over the alleged '5-meter law' implies
that error. Putting all politics aside and looking exclusively at the
fundamental issues of this matter is what we need reviewed. This may need to
go to the judiciary.
How Mr. Blair's concept of due process in this G20 Security context could
conflict so severely with Canadian core values of civil liberties is a
matter of some concern. Upholding the federal and provincial statutes--the
law of the land--is mandatory for the Toronto Police Chief. The mindset that
allows one to believe they as Chief of Police could walk into the premier's
office with a freshly-minted law in hand granting absolute powers of arrest
is surrealistic at best. The collection of details the Chief used to
describe this alleged statute resembles none in existance although he said
he relied on the Public Works Protection Act. The agregious violation of
civil liberties and martial-law-like parameters he touted and
apparently believed is a problem of itself.
The fact that Blair is not knowledgeable enough on due process and could
believe those things to be fact, and the fact that once having it made clear
to him he was wrong by the Priemer's office, he did nothing but continue to
encourage thousands of police troops they had extraordinary powers, suggests
the Board's decision is seriously wrong.
Perhaps it is a simple matter that this man has been too long on the job and
it has gone to his head.
Of course we respect his experience and years of service, but ordinarily
Parliament, the Senate and the Supreme Court are the main players in
lawmaking, not the Police. The law that Blair had his thousands of police
officers believing in, does not exist. That is unforgivable. We have
evidence to suggest police officers were briefed on a law and on powers and
authority that in fact did not exist. This is a grave matter that will not
go away.
We are appalled at the crime that was committed and are further appalled
that numerous innocent people were hurt, police officers included.
The people pay for police services to respect and protect the rights of the
people and to prevent crime concomitant with the first duty. The reverse of
this actually happened on the Toronto G20 weekend. Police did beat, hurt by
other means, detain or arrested, imprisoned and abused innocent bystanders,
mainstream media persons, and a range of residents going about their daily
business while allowing criminals to conduct their criminal activities
unhindered.
Having seen evidence of these events and having made careful and deliberate
effort to learn information on all available aspects of theses events, we
have organized using our own resources an independent online petition
(http://chiefblair.resignnow.ca/) seeking the resignation of Chief Blair.
We have also commenced other institutional actions of a more intricate
nature. We are not protesters, we are concerned citizens. You will not see
us carrying signs or disrupting meetings nor will we ever condone that
approach to anyone, not that it is wrong. We are motivated by the failure of
due process; incompetence of leadership and the crime that occurred in our
city despite all our warnings that this should not happen here in Toronto.
We are serious, so are our thousands of supporters, and will not go away.
Our expectation of an inquiry is a truthful evaluation of all aspects of
policing in Toronto in the G20 event and proper recommendations
thereafter--reasonable expectations, in other words.
The group of alleged criminals, recently dubbed by the media as being
"black bloc", with their accomplices, were seen on or about the afternoon of
27 June with apparent criminal intent to commit acts of crime inasmuch as
they assaulted numerous persons including but not limited to at least one of
our Toronto police officers and numerous camera carrying citizens; destroyed
property including an act or acts of damaging bricked sidewalks on Yonge
Street; damaged gardens of private homes on Soho Street, smashed windows and
other property of merchants and other businesses on at least Queen and Yonge
Streets; disturbed the peace in a wide area of Toronto; stole private
property in the process of looting; set fires in police cars at various
locations; and did other crimes in violation of the Canada Criminal Code and
various other statutes.
These crimes we find appalling. We believe that the perpetrators should have
been prevented from doing most of these crimes by the Toronto Police
Services led by Police Chief William Blair and assisted by additional
thousands of other police officers brought from other parts of Ontario and
other Canadian provinces at the expense of public funds.
We see that Toronto Police Services whose proper law enforcement we pay for
did not even attempt to stop this criminal conduct. We see this as a
failure to meet our minimum law-enforcement expectations, a dereliction of
duty by our Chief of Police.
This is our present submission of allegations we wish to have investigated
by an investigatory or review body.
Our kindest regards,
Kathleen and Micheal O'Brien
Toronto
xxx-xxx-xxxx