Toronto police accused of denying counsel to detained demonstrators

TORONTO — Critics are accusing Toronto police of violating the rights of three protesters arrested at a Black Lives Matter demonstration on Saturday morning — a charge the force denies.

Police say two women and a man were detained shortly before 11 a.m. on Saturday after allegedly throwing buckets of pink paint on the statues of Egerton Ryerson, Sir John A. Macdonald and King Edward VII.

But defence lawyer Saron Gebresellassi said she was representing one of the women and wasn’t able to speak to her client for hours.

“In the course of 12+ hours, I only spoke with my client twice: at 3:15 p.m., 5 hours after I was appointed as legal counsel, and once closer to midnight,” she wrote on Twitter. “I submit this is a violation of Section 10b of the Charter which guarantees the right to counsel immediately and (without) delay.”

Other protesters — and several prominent city councillors — have alleged police shut off the phone lines at the detachment where the accused were being held.

Police have said the phone lines weren’t shut down, they were just clogged by callers. And they said the detained demonstrators, who were released more than 12 hours after their arrests, were treated fairly during their time in custody.

“The three arrests were made in accordance with the law and all rights were respected. There was nothing unique about these arrests or the process which followed,” Toronto Police said in a statement Sunday evening.

Police Chief Mark Saunders said the accused had access to counsel as soon as it was assigned, and the police service said the three accused declined to sign a release form stipulating that they would appear in court.

“Despite two indicating they would seek release, they later refused and instead chose to remain in custody for many hours longer than was required and into the evening and early morning hours,” Saunders said in the media release.  

“It is important in these critical moments that the truth be told by all sides.”

Saunders said all of the interactions with the accused were recorded, and will be entered as evidence in court.

At a press conference on Sunday, in front of the still paint-covered statue of Ryerson, Black Lives Matter Toronto co-founder Rodney Diverlus tossed the accusations back at Saunders, saying it was the police who were distorting the narrative.

He also reiterated the groups demand for a 50 per cent cut in the Toronto police budget, which protesters want reallocated to social and community-focused initiatives. 

“This has only proven to us as a community that the police need to go and that we need new systems of safety,” Diverlus said. “They do not keep us safe.”

The three accused, Daniel Gooch, Danielle Smith, and Jenna Reid, are each charged with three counts of mischief under $5,000 and conspiracy to commit a summary offence.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on July 19, 2020.

Jake Kivanç, The Canadian Press