Almost two years after the events of the G20 riots, the Office of the Independent Police Review Director finally released a detailed report regarding police conduct during the rioting. Turns out? They could have handled things better. Amongst the various fuckeries:
- The short deadlines made it impossible for planning to coalesce, resulting in a lack of proper execution of safety and security procedures.
- Police were primed for violent protests but not for the peaceful protests that took up the bulk of the riots.
- Police were unable to keep up with protesters on foot due to their bulky protection.
- Many of the police brought in from the outside had no clue where they were and became hopelessly lost in the streets.
- Certain police officers detained and harrassed peaceful protesters without just cause (via the National Post)
Bear in mind, the actions of a certain contingency of each group really shouldn’t be taken as a representation of each side. Yes, there were officers who overstepped their boundaries and protesters who went too far, but on the whole, many of those who were caught up in these riots were good people who became victims of circumstances created by powerful assholes. Actually, I’m pretty sure I just described society as a whole. Weird how that works, huh? My point is, I’d rather people be judged on the basis of personal accountability rather than sweeping generalizations based on which side they’re on.
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