TORONTO -- Firing the top officer who gave sweeping and illegal arrest orders at the G20 summit six years ago would be absurd under the circumstances, his lawyer said Thursday.
Speaking at a sentencing hearing for Supt. David (Mark) Fenton, lawyer Peter Brauti said even a reprimand would be too harsh for an officer motivated only by a desire to restore public order.
Brauti made much of the fact that Fenton took over an operational command in "panic mode" following a spate of unprecedented vandalism by "roving packs of hooligans" that transformed the downtown into a war zone.
Under orders from his superiors to "take back the streets," Fenton issued his sweeping arrest orders on the fly and his supervisors did not object, the tribunal heard.
"Fenton was not a lone wolf in dealing with this situation," Brauti told retired justice John Hamilton. "It was not the failings of one man, but rather the failings of an entire senior command." (more...)
The question no-one is asking: Are the neo-Nazi organizations known to infiltrate Black Block agitators also concealed within Toronto and other police forces? Was there collusion and provocation to descredit protesters? These tactics were used by supposedly trusted authorities during the anti-war protests of the past century.
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