Toronto police officer accused of assaulting pastry-maker at G20 summit
A Toronto police constable has been charged with assault causing bodily harm in connection with the beating of a Toronto man at the chaotic G20 summit a year ago.
The criminal charge against Constable Glenn Weddell of west-end Toronto’s 11 Division was announced Friday afternoon by the Mississauga-based Special Investigations Unit, which probes all deaths and serious injuries involving civilians and police.
From almost the outset, the SIU had been struggling to identify the police officer or officers alleged to have inflicted injuries on pastry-maker Dorian Barton on the first day of the two-day summit, and its investigation has been closed and reopened twice.
Mr. Barton, 30, has said he was just taking pictures near Queen's Park when he was tackled by police, hauled across the pavement by his arms, arrested and taken to a temporary holding centre.
He sustained a broken arm, a black eye and multiple bruises in the altercation.
Until Friday, however, the SIU’s inquiries had largely been thwarted because none of the 11 designated “witness officers” who were nearby were willing or able to identify Constable Weddell as the alleged protagonist.
On Friday, a newspaper article and photograph identified him and the charge was announced a few hours later.
In a press release, SIU director Ian Scott said: “As a result of information provided by the TPS after May 26, 2011, the SIU conducted three further interviews of TPS members. On the basis of information received in those interviews, and in conjunction with information gathered in the prior investigations, there are now reasonable grounds to believe that Toronto Police Constable Glenn Weddell committed the offence of assault causing bodily harm against Dorian Barton on June 26, 2010.”
Constable Weddell is to appear in court next month.
Meanwhile, a group of NDP members of Parliament joined Toronto small-business owners Friday afternoon outside a downtown tavern to voice their dismay at the slow pace at which the Harper government is dealing with calls for compensation arising from the summit.
Roughly 300 businesses, including the landmark Horseshoe Tavern on Queen Street, have filed claims seeking compensation for the thousands of dollars’ worth of damage and lost business.
Toronto police officer accused of assaulting pastry-maker at G20 summit - The Globe and Mail
A Toronto police constable has been charged with assault causing bodily harm in connection with the beating of a Toronto man at the chaotic G20 summit a year ago.
The criminal charge against Constable Glenn Weddell of west-end Toronto’s 11 Division was announced Friday afternoon by the Mississauga-based Special Investigations Unit, which probes all deaths and serious injuries involving civilians and police.
From almost the outset, the SIU had been struggling to identify the police officer or officers alleged to have inflicted injuries on pastry-maker Dorian Barton on the first day of the two-day summit, and its investigation has been closed and reopened twice.
Mr. Barton, 30, has said he was just taking pictures near Queen's Park when he was tackled by police, hauled across the pavement by his arms, arrested and taken to a temporary holding centre.
He sustained a broken arm, a black eye and multiple bruises in the altercation.
Until Friday, however, the SIU’s inquiries had largely been thwarted because none of the 11 designated “witness officers” who were nearby were willing or able to identify Constable Weddell as the alleged protagonist.
On Friday, a newspaper article and photograph identified him and the charge was announced a few hours later.
In a press release, SIU director Ian Scott said: “As a result of information provided by the TPS after May 26, 2011, the SIU conducted three further interviews of TPS members. On the basis of information received in those interviews, and in conjunction with information gathered in the prior investigations, there are now reasonable grounds to believe that Toronto Police Constable Glenn Weddell committed the offence of assault causing bodily harm against Dorian Barton on June 26, 2010.”
Constable Weddell is to appear in court next month.
Meanwhile, a group of NDP members of Parliament joined Toronto small-business owners Friday afternoon outside a downtown tavern to voice their dismay at the slow pace at which the Harper government is dealing with calls for compensation arising from the summit.
Roughly 300 businesses, including the landmark Horseshoe Tavern on Queen Street, have filed claims seeking compensation for the thousands of dollars’ worth of damage and lost business.
Toronto police officer accused of assaulting pastry-maker at G20 summit - The Globe and Mail
