The police force used at the Toronto G20 Summit protest was brutal and unneeded. The Toronto Police Force used unnecessary violence in a situation that could have been solved without it. Peaceful protesters were beaten and wrongly detained without evidence. Paramedics were refused access to injured people, some paramedics were beaten as well, and the protesters being detained were refused access to medicine, and the help they needed. The police ignored basic rights of the citizens while they used excessive force on peaceful protesters and bystanders. The officers abused their position as they fired rubber bullets at people and neglected detainees. In the police report for after all this happened, they denied all the excessive force they used and didn’t mention half the things that did happen. The overall events that occurred at the Toronto G20 protest were unneeded and cruel.
When the police detained protesters at a temporary detainment center, many did not belong there. Many of the detainees were injured and sick. Not only were most of the people being held there wrongly detained, but they were also refused food, water, and medical attention. Violence continued in detention and along with not having access to basic needs, the detainees also did not have proper toilet facilities. Detainees were forced to wait hours in the pouring rain and they were not allowed to contact lawyers or their families. People with chronic diseases and requiring personal medication were refused it. People who were detained and required medications had their medication confiscated, and upon release, they were not given back. That led to people having to franticly search for new prescriptions, endangering them even after the protests were over. The whole set up was inhumane and had terrible planning.
Medics that attempted to assist the wounded protesters from the violence of the police were stopped from helping numerous victims. In some cases, medics witnessed injured people in dire need of medical attention behind police lines that they were refused access to. “We gave out water and sunscreen, but we also dealt with severe injuries. All of the serious injuries we treated were inflicted by the police.1” Tons of medics were detained and their equipment was confiscated, leading to even less help the protesters had. Some of them were beaten. The medics were scared by the police and often it made them feel as if what they were trying to do was illegal, when they were just trying to provide medical care to the protesters and bystanders that required it. The police once again abused their authority at a peaceful protest and caused more pain and suffering by not letting the medics do their job. They fought people and then denied them access to get better from the fighting.
Police beat and used excessive force on protesters and several victims who were managed to be taken to hospitals were diagnosed with fractures and concussions. Many protesters have reported symptoms of anxiety and trauma, proving the effects of the police brutality to be more long term than it was thought of. Police were dressed in riot gear and gas masks as they burst into peaceful crowds firing rubber bullets and beating innocent
