Typically, one – but during the G20, with heightened security turning Toronto into “Torontonomo Bay”, it takes ten.
We were sitting on the patio at The Rhino (Queen Street West, west of Dufferin) when a guy started calling out to the patio-dwellers, announcing that 4 cops were writing him a jaywalking ticket:
One of his friends was wearing an Anti-Flag t-shirt, another wore a t-shirt with the words “Action Now” and another was wearing an anarchist-themed T-shirt. They looked like the protester type, which probably drew the cops’ attention.
He committed Big Mistake Number One: he got a call-and-response going with the bar patrons on the patio: “What do we say to the cops?” “FUCK YOU!”
At this point, the cops started getting on their cellphones and called for backup (a particularly interesting thing to see, having just come from a conference on the iPhone):
The backup came remarkably quickly. It couldn’t have been more than a few minutes before 6 more bicycle cops arrived to form a phalanx around the jaywalker and his cohort.
Take a close look at the panniers on the back of the cops’ bikes: those are riot helmets. These guys are ready for some serious G20 hellzapoppin’ action. So this is what a billion dollars’ worth of security investment buys you:
In the end, the cops showed great restraint, considering the circumstances and the high emotions, letting our young anarchist friend off with a ticket.
You’ll probably see a lot more photos of this incident. A number of people and passers-by, upon seeing the commotion, whipped out cellphones and cameras and shot still photos and video.
Welcome to Torontonomo Bay!
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The businesses on queen street west should complain about this, who wants to go downtown if all you are going to get from it is jaywalking tickets? The crosswalks are slow and far between, not to mention that cars are allowed to do left turns and U-turns but for some reason those of us blessed with legs get ticketed for using them.
P.S. Did all of the police bikes have bells, that's an $80 fine?
Why is it considered 'great restraint' to let a jaywalker off with a ticket for jaywalking?
Lovely !!!
Riot helmets and bare knees.... kinky.
Photography of police in the UK can be illegal if... it is 'likely to be useful to a person committing or preparing an act of terrorism'
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/uk_news/7888301.stm
@Colin- that's because the UK populace surrendered its civil liberties a long time ago. We're not quite such an intrusive police state here yet, though really, the only thing separating us from fascism is the willingness to spend $1billion a month on security forces.
Bottom line, any police force which can't stand the light of public scrutiny is not a police force, it's an occupying power.
is that syed hussan from the toronto community mobilization network? pretty sure i saw him do an interview in that shirt today. cheers to him!
Didn't his mother teach him to look both ways to check for police hoards before jaywalking across the street? For shame!
I showed up right at the tail end of this.
-- There were more than 10 police officers on bikes, there were quite a few more just a little bit on the west side of these pictures. I didn't count, but I would say there were at least 15 officers. I didn't notice any police cruisers, just bike cops.
-- I think that the cops showed restraint in not arresting the man in question for attempting to incite a riot, as he was shouting to the crowd as detailed above.
-- A previous incident last week shows how a jaywalking ticket can quickly get out of hand: http://gawker.com/5564653/cop-punches-17+year+old-girl-in-head-at-jaywalking-stop
-- When the cops left the scene, many people who were sitting at the patio started applauding (presumably because the cops left, not because they supported the cops).
Overall, it was an interesting scenario - a possible preview into what we can expect this weekend.
I believe that the Toronto Police will do what they can to protect the rights of everyone, both protesters and average citizens. It's unfortunate that often time protesters can resort to violence as a way of demonstrating their points. When that happens, the police should be involved to protect the interests of the non-protesters.
@Kevin
I wouldn't say that the "populace surrendered its civil liberties".
They were taken without consent and the laws which took them have been fought against then and now. Example: the near-total defeat of the ID-cards scheme.