posted by on Aug 6
Riot Police at the G20 in Toronto in June
Toronto Police and the federal Attorney General in Canada are named in a G20 class action lawsuit over wrongful arrests in June. The 45 million Canadian dollar suit is brought by representative for the plaintiff, Sherry Good. Ms. Good claims she and hundreds of others present at the protests against the G20 Summit were detained for hours and arrested without cause amidst chaos during protests that turned violent.
Violence during the otherwise peaceful G20 protests was initiated and mostly carried out by a relatively small group of people, dressed all in black and wearing black balaclavas. This group smashed windows of small businesses, banks and coffee shops, and in some cases did some looting as well. They also targeted at least three police cars in different sections of the city, in some cases setting them on fire. In one case, a windshield was smashed and molotov cocktail thrown through the hole.
Ms Good, along with nearly 800 plaintiffs in the G20 class action lawsuit say they were not violent, and had nothing to do with the violence but were targeted for detention and arrest nevertheless. They are suing the Toronto Police Services Board, who oversees the Toronto Police. They are also suing the federal Attorney General, who legally represents the Royal Canadian Mounted Police.