One officer is Supt. Mark Fenton, the commander who ordered mass arrests and the unlawful kettling at Queen St. and Spadina Ave. Fenton will now likely face a tribunal hearing because his misconduct has been deemed of a “serious nature.”
Opinion: Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair must own up to G20 mistakes or step down
The other two senior officers are Supt. Michael Farrar and Staff. Insp. Frank Ruffolo, who were in charge of the prisoner processing facility on Eastern Ave.
The two reports by the Office of the Independent Police Review Director (OIPRD) focus on the kettling and on conditions at the detention centre, which came under fire in the watchdog's scathing review of the G20 earlier this week.
The two reports were obtained by the Star from complainants and were kept secret from the public. Toronto police spokesman Tony Vella said it would be “inappropriate to comment” on the matter.
Attempts to reach the three senior officers were unsuccessful. None of the three has been charged under the Police Services Act. Ruffolo, however, is retired, according to a Toronto Police Services bulletin, and can't face disciplinary charges. Farrar retired two years ago, after the G20, according to an officer at 33 Division. When the police watchdog deems an allegation of misconduct is substantiated, there is enough evidence to prove that misconduct occurred.
Police services board chair Alok Mukherjee said the police chief has options available to him. They range from informal resolution to changing a procedure to disciplinary action against an officer with or without a hearing, according to the OIPRD website.
The watchdog noted in one of its reports that Fenton should not “stand alone in taking responsibility for the arbitrary arrest and detention” at Queen and Spadina. Deputy Chief Tony Warr and Police Chief Bill Blair should also have acted faster to ensure the safety of the people boxed in at the intersection, the report said. The Star learned that about five officers in command roles were notified last week they will be facing misconduct charges in relation to their leadership during the summit. The police services board and Toronto police would not confirm whether the three officers named in the two OIPRD reports are among the five. Blair is not one of the high-ranking officers facing disciplinary action, said Mukherjee.
So far, eight constables have been charged with G20-related misconduct under the Police Services Act. Earlier this week, the police union tried to stop police tribunal proceedings because the time limit of six months had passed. It lost that motion. Union head Mike McCormack said Thursday 28 or 29 frontline officers face misconduct charges.
McCormack said he does not know about the high-ranking officers because they wouldn't be in his membership. When reached Thursday night, a spokesperson for the Toronto Police Services Senior Officers Organization said they do not publicly comment on internal matters.
Police complaints watchdog Gerry McNeilly found the Queen and Spadina report — which examined the arrest and boxing in of hundreds of people on the Sunday of the G20 weekend — substantiated the allegations of misconduct that Fenton “committed the misconduct of unlawful exercise of authority” and “discreditable conduct” when he “ordered the unlawful arrest and detention of a group of people in a severe rain storm that included thunder and lightning.”
There was also “clear indication” Fenton knew about the severe weather coming to Toronto and should have had a plan in place, the OIPRD report said. The report did not, however, substantiate allegations of discreditable conduct and excess force made against other officers. In the prisoner processing report, McNeilly named Farrar, in charge of the facility on Eastern Ave. in the daytime and Ruffolo, who took over during the night shift. “As the most senior officers, they had the responsibility for the care and control of the prisoner,” said the report.
It went on to say that “the lack of communication, direction, process and procedure at the PPC speak to the overall command and the inability to address the obstacles and issues that arose during the course of the G20 weekend.” Allegations of discreditable conduct, neglect of duty and unnecessary force were substantiated against both officers. A further two allegations of discreditable conduct and neglect of duty was found to be substantiated against Farrar, who was also a member of planning team responsible for developing the operational plan for the prisoner facility.
Police spokesman Kevin Masterson confirmed the names of eight constables who have already been charged, and the dates of their hearings, which all take place in the next three months. Those officers, who have not yet had the chance to defend themselves, are: Vincent Wong, Blair Begbie, Alan Li June, Donald Stratton, Michael Kirpoff, Ryan Simpson Jason Crawford, and Michael Martinez.
In his sweeping review, McNeilly concluded high-ranking Toronto police commanders overreacted during the G20 summit and assumed an “autocratic structure,” with superior officers — including Blair, according to one superintendent — disseminating orders to “own the streets” and take them back from the “terrorists that were attacking our city.” The result on the ground, according to the report, was officers “blindly following orders” and using excessive force, ignoring “the basic rights of citizens under the Charter,” and acting unlawfully when they boxed in hundreds of people at the Novotel hotel and at Queen St. and Spadina Ave.
At a news conference on Wednesday afternoon, Blair said there are things that “could have been done better” during the G20 summit, but refused to apologize for or comment on specific allegations of misconduct by superior officers laid out in McNeilly's review. “I think that there is an appropriate place for that to be determined,” Blair said, referring to police tribunal hearings.
The chief did not take the findings of the report as fact, instead saying he would reserve his judgment until tribunal hearings are held. Blair also refused to apologize on behalf of the force for human rights violations that took place during the G20 summit, saying his job is to hold his officers accountable.
“Generally, I think the rights of our citizens were protected that weekend,” Blair said, except, “in individual circumstances.” “I am quite prepared to hold people accountable,” he said. “If there is misconduct, we'll deal with that.”
Source: Star
Author: Jayme Poisson, Jennifer Yang and Emily Jackson
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