By Alison@Creekside The JIG is up. An RCMP “joint intelligence group” — comprised of federal, provincial and municipal police — infiltrated activist groups prior to the G20 and Vancouver Olympics in what they call “one of the largest domestic intelligence operations in Canadian history.” Constable Bindo Showan of the Ontario Provincial Police, one of the two principal undercover Ontario spies, is a […]
The Vancouver riot: thugs are not anarchists
By Frank Moher Memo to Vancouver Police Chief Jim Chu: idiots and anarchists are two different things. I know being a political scientist isn’t a prerequisite for becoming a cop, not even the top cop, but playing the “anarchist” card last week, as you did in defending your force’s handling of the Stanley Cup riot, […]
Kevin Annett’s unfinished testament
By Frank Moher Kevin Annett lives in a small white house facing onto a ramshackle street in downtown Nanaimo, BC. The local RCMP detachment, with its lot full of solid, square cop cars, is just around the corner. Inside, on a watery day in mid-January, the living room is lit only by the gray light […]
Kevin Annett’s unfinished testament — page 2
Continued from page 1 On August 9th, 2010, Annett took a phone call on his long-running radio show, “Hidden from History.” The caller wanted to discuss rumours of police complicity in the murders committed by Robert Pickton. “I have specific evidence of what you’re talking about,” Annett replied. “There’s a man, Les Guerin, he’s a […]
Revisited: “How I Got Arrested and Abused at the G20 in Toronto, Canada”
On Friday, the CBC’s The Fifth Estate broadcast “You Should Have Stayed at Home,” about police tactics at the 2010 G20 Summit. Among those appearing in the documentary is Toronto playwright and director Tommy Taylor, whose harrowing account of his arrest and detention appeared on his facebook page (log-in required) within hours of his release. […]
“Lay Off Officer Bubbles”: the video
By Frank Moher Last week we reported on the ongoing saga of Officer Bubbles, the Toronto cop who became infamous during the G20 for threatening to bust a bubble-blowing protestor. Constable Bubbles, you will recall (or maybe not), has launched a 1.2 million dollar lawsuit against YouTube for hosting cartoons and comments deriding him, while […]
Officer Bubbles: the poem
By Frank Moher The saga of Officer Bubbles continues. The Toronto Police Services constable (aka Adam Josephs) became notorious during the G20 for threatening to arrest a particularly pacific young woman if she continued to blow bubbles in his vicinity. “If the bubble touches me,” he growled, “you’re going to be arrested for assault.” “Bubbles?” […]
The further persecution of Gary McCullough
By Alison@Creekside By the time G20 arrestee Gary McCullough has his next court date in December, he will have spent six months locked up without bail for no other reason than the police and courts are unable to admit they should never have arrested him in the first place. Police admitted within hours of his […]
How I Got Arrested and Abused at the G20 in Toronto, Canada
(Editor’s note: On Tuesday, June 29th, 2010, Toronto resident Tommy Taylor published, on his facebook page (log-in required), an extraordinary account of being arrested and caged at the G20 for 23 hours. At the time of his arrest, he and his girlfriend were watching a group of peaceful protestors, and had joined in when they […]
G20: Thought the phony arrests were over? Not for Charlie Veitch.
By Frank Moher Charlie Veitch, one of the first activists arrested at the G20 in Toronto, was arrested a second time on Tuesday as he attempted to catch a plane home to England. According to a Toronto Police Service media release (pdf) issued on Tuesday night, Veitch has been charged with impersonating a police officer. […]
