DiManno: As new allegations of G20 brutality surface, police raise their shields

By Rosie DiManno

Officer John Doe. Officer John Doe. Officer John Doe. Officer John Doe. Officer John Doe. Officer John Doe. Officer John Doe.

In the absence of actual names, these John Does could be any from among Toronto’s 5,000-plus uniformed police.

And that’s the unfortunate result of anonymity: A shadow of suspicion falling across everybody.

Dorian Barton claims he was viciously attacked by a half dozen cops during the police-initiated melee at the Queen’s Park G20 protests last June. He’s launched a $250,000 civil suit against both the Toronto Police Services Board and the as-yet unnamed officers, referenced in court documents as officers John Doe 1 through 7.

Officer Joe Doe 7 was not party to the alleged assault. This is the individual who later laid the charges — obstructing a peace officer and being involved in an unlawful protest — against Barton, although there appears to be no supporting paperwork. If such documentation existed, there would have to be a name for the arresting officer included. And that paperwork would presumably have led the Special Investigations Unit to identify him.

Read on...

The police are always lamenting the lack of public co-operation at crime scenes. Except when they are the crime scene. Tom

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