Toronto police showed up at a comedy fundraiser and at a film screening on the same night in April. Organizers describe how this fits into a broader pattern and what can be done to protect community members
It was just after 10 p.m. on Saturday, April 4 when two Toronto cops walked into the lobby of Comedy Bar on Bloor Street, moments before the Stand-up For Gaza comedy show was set to begin. The monthly event raises funds for the Gaza Soup Kitchen.
Witnesses say the officers asked questions about the “gathering,” apparently under the impression that the comedy show was an organized “march.”
Comedian and host of the event, Isabel Zaw-Tun, spoke to the officers, insisting that there were no plans to march through the rain late at night. Eventually, the cops left.
“This sort of thing has never happened in my experience,” Zaw-Tun tells The Grind, describing the officers’ actions as “intimidating” and “infringing on my personal space.”
“After they left, I splashed some water on my face in the bathroom. Another comedian in the show gave me a hug and a glass of water, and I went onstage to open the show,” she recalls. “I mentioned that the police had been called on the show and the crowd loudly booed.”
It’s unclear why the officers showed up, and Toronto police did not respond to The Grind’s requests for comment for this article. Some organizers believe that a passerby might have called the police after seeing the name of the show on the venue’s marquee. (more...)
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