May 20, 2012

You are here: Home / Archives for police

Report Says G20 Public Inquiry Needed

February 28, 2011 By Jordan Leave a Comment

According to a report from the Canadian Civil Liberties Association and the National Union of Public and General Employees, a full public report is needed pertaining to the G20 events in Toronto.

There are a number of recommendations made in the report, which is the result of three public hearings in Toronto and Montreal held in November.

“The many violations of civil liberties that occurred during the summit, such as illegal detentions and searches and excessive uses of force, cannot have simply been the actions of a few bad apples,” the report states. ”Rather, given the scope and severity of the violations of rights that occurred during the G20, it is difficult to view this situation as anything other than a failure of policy and training.”

The report is 56 pages long and is based on the testimony of dozens of people caught up in the madness of the G20 event last June. 1,105 people were arrested. Police refused to take part in the report.

“Much of the testimony we heard was shocking and appalling,” said union president James Clancy. “Over and over again, witnesses recounted their experiences involving the excessive violent dispersal of peaceful demonstrators by police and the dehumanizing treatment of many of those who were detained.”

There are a number of photographs to go with the testimony in the report. Including in the pictures is one of Revenue Canada worker John Pruyn, 58. He had his artificial leg taken off by police as he sat on the grass at the Ontario legislature.

Several lawsuits came out of the G20 events. The police action intensified after a small group of vandals took to smashing windows and setting fire to police cruisers while officers did nothing. As a result of this, the report states that “Peaceful protests were violently dispersed.”

The report is titled Breach of the Peace and states that some have concerns over police informants being involved in the violence.

Ontario’s ombudsman Andre Marin characterized the events at G20 as “the most massive compromise of civil rights in Canadian history.”

Filed Under: News Tagged With: , , , , ,

Toronto Cops Snag Escaped Killer

February 22, 2011 By Jordan Leave a Comment

Toronto police finally caught up with an escaped killer after a weekend long manhunt.

Ashley Ronald Brent Crawford was nabbed by police after he failed to return to prison after an unescorted trip to Peterborough. The trip was approved by the parole board and the convict had been on the lam since Friday.

Crawford was given a three day pass on Wednesday of last week and checked in at a Peterborough halfway house where he was last seen on Friday morning. He failed to return to a minimum security prison that night and police issued a warrant across the country for his arrest. By Monday night, cops had grabbed him without incident. The catch was made at 8:30 pm.

Interestingly, police were responding to an unrelated incident at a house and happened to recognize Crawford.

Crawford was taken back to prison to continue serving the life sentence he earned in 2001. He was convicted and sentenced for first degree murder after he set fire to a home in Killaloe, Ontario. Crawford was just 16 at the time and was “seduced” into setting the fire by the former lesbian lover of the victim. Talk about your winding stories.

Crawford, now 30, was actually eligible for parole and this incident doesn’t bode well on that score.

The original tale is as weird as they come, with a young Crawford being seduced into setting the home on fire by his girlfriend. She’s 27 years his senior and is currently serving a life sentence for killing her husband  in 1995 by spiking his wine with anti-freeze.

There are a number of questions to ask, of course, but perhaps the most pressing is how a convicted killer serving a life sentence was allowed an unescorted pass in the first place. Something’s off there.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: , , , , , , ,

Toronto’s $1 Million Pizza Pot Bust

February 15, 2011 By Jordan Leave a Comment

The popular Pizza Gigi in Toronto at 189 Harbord Street has become the scene of a $1 million pot bust. The pizzeria has been shut down by cops after they uncovered the marijuana and other drugs on premises.

“Officers made observations where people were actually going in and then leaving emtpy-handed, without any food,” said Const. Tony Vella.

The pizza joint, pardon the pun, proves popular with university and high school students. The University of Toronto and Central Technical School is nearby.

The drug bust went down after 1:30 am Monday with cops taking to a search warrant a day after opening a drug investigation. Owner Salvatore Crimi, 57, faces a number of charges including traffic in marijuana, possession of cocaine, and possession of a controlled substance.

According to the Toronto Star, “Pizza Gigi has been operating in the same location for more than 30 years and has built up a reputation as one of the best pizza places in Toronto. It was voted as one of NOW magazine’s Top 5 pizza places in Toronto, despite a sparse décor that consists of little more than a dying palm tree.”

Fans of Pizza Gigi took to Twitter to lament the loss, starting the “hash” tag #WasThatReallyOreganoOnMyPizza? to mark the occasion with some humour in typical Canadian fashion.

Cops said they found $1 million worth of marijuana, half an ounce of crack cocaine, MDMA, Oxycocet and OxyContin inside the pizza restaurant. $8,000 cash was also on the premises.

Corporate records reveal that the business name for Pizza Gigi expired on January 1, 2011. Businesses have 60 days to renew a name after it expires, so one has to wonder what the plans are. Crimi has owned the property since 1987.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: , , , , ,