‘Officer Bubbles’ identified other Toronto officers to G20 watchdog
The first time we heard from Adam Josephs — better known as “Officer Bubbles” — the constable with crossed arms was cracking down on bubble-blowing protesters.
Now, nearly two years later, Josephs is back — this time not as a viral YouTube star, but as the co-operative police witness who paved the way for G20 accountability.
On June 26, 2010, the first day of the G20 summit in Toronto, freelance journalist Jesse Rosenfeld was arrested while covering the “kettling” of hundreds of people outside the Novotel Hotel. His takedown was witnessed by Steve Paikin, the popular TVO host who famously tweeted about the incident and described Rosenfeld being punched in the stomach and elbowed in the back.
More: The cop who said no to ‘kettling’
But according to a report by the province’s police complaints watchdog, Josephs was the third high-profile character in this G20 story — one of two officers who escorted Paikin from the kettling and, later, the witness who identified Rosenfeld’s arresting officers to investigators.
In a report by the Office of the Independent Police Review Director, investigators found enough evidence to believe that Const. Michael Martinez, of Toronto police, used “unnecessary force” during Rosenfeld’s arrest. The report was provided to the Star by Rosenfeld and has not been publicly released.
Martinez has now been charged under the Police Services Act and will face a police tribunal hearing.
More: How events unfolded on the streets
During the G20 summit, Rosenfeld covered protests as a freelance journalist, writing primarily for the Guardian newspaper’s “Comment is Free” website.
He did not have an official press pass but wore an “alternative media pass,” which police officers refused to recognize when they apprehended him at the Novotel Hotel, according to the OIPRD report. Despite Rosenfeld’s protestations, he was arrested for breach of peace.
Meanwhile, Paikin — identified by the OIPRD report only as a “senior editor and news anchor for a local TV channel” — was being escorted from the crowd by two officers. Paikin noticed Rosenfeld being “chirpy” but not at all physically threatening or verbally abusive towards the officers, according to the report.
Paikin told investigators Rosenfeld was being restrained by two officers when he “doubled over from the blow to the stomach” by a third officer, who also elbowed him in the back.
He remarked that the arrest looked “a little rough.” According to the report, one of Paikin’s escorting officers replied, “That probably shouldn’t have happened.”
Paikin did not learn the identity of this officer until October 2010, about four months after the G20 summit.
While waiting in line at the Princess of Wales Theatre with his daughter, Paikin was suddenly approached by a man who asked him how he was doing.
When Paikin failed to recognize the man, he told him, “I’m the guy that escorted you away that night,” according to the OIPRD report.
“At this point, (Paikin) recalled the officer and replied, ‘You’re (sic) picture has been in the paper a lot lately hasn’t it,’” the report said. “The officer replied, ‘That’s right, I’m Officer Bubbles.’”
“They had a brief conversation regarding ‘Officer Bubbles’ troubles but didn’t discuss the events that occurred in front of the Novotel.”
When OIPRD investigators later interviewed Josephs, he emphasized that he did not witness Rosenfeld’s arrest because his back was turned. His statement to Paikin at the time, he said, was actually, “I have no idea why that happened.”
Josephs did, however, identify Rosenfeld’s three arresting officers, all of whom are with Toronto police.
The two officers who held Rosenfeld’s arms denied seeing any officers striking him during the arrest, according to the report.
But in an interview with the OIPRD, Martinez admitted to hitting Rosenfeld because he was “actively resisting” and “trying to escape the grasp of these officers.”
Martinez described the first blow as a “distractionary strike” to the chest, using an “open hand.”
As for the elbow to Rosenfeld’s back, Martinez said it was supposed to be a “break hill stun,” a manoeuvre using the inside of the wrist to strike the back of someone’s neck — Martinez, however, “ended up striking (Rosenfeld) on the back between his shoulder blades,” the report said.
“Constable Martinez failed to consider how his use of force may have caused the ‘kettled’ crowd to react,” the OIPRD report said. “The public order unit had total control of the crowd in front of the Novotel and it is inconceivable how the complainant could possibly ‘escape’ and ‘incite’ as described by Constable Martinez to justify his use of force.”
While the OIPRD substantiated Rosenfeld’s claim of unnecessary force, it did not find evidence to support his other two allegations, including that he was unlawfully arrested and that police failed to recognize his media credentials.
The report noted, however, that the unlawful arrest issue is being dealt with separately because a senior officer who ordered the mass arrests on June 26, 2010, was being investigated under a different file.
In an interview Tuesday, Rosenfeld said he is pleased with the OIPRD’s finding but has little faith in the police disciplinary process. He said he feels the police have already been successful, to an extent, because they prevented him from writing his story that day and therefore muffled the press.
As for “Bubbles,” Rosenfeld said he was amused to learn the now-notorious constable had a “cameo appearance” in his own arrest. “He keeps popping up,” he mused.
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