July 19, 2020
Toronto
Black Lives Matter-affiliated activists and their legal representative called out a series of half truths and lies from the Toronto Police, specifically Mark Saunders, during a mid day press conference. Police are accused of kidnapping and unlawfully imprisoning 3 peaceful protesters yesterday, then lying about it. The protesters were allegedly detained, forcibly confined, then taken to an unknown location. The crime? Splashing pink paint on a statue. But not just any statue, this was Egerton Ryerson, a known racist and murderer.
Despite this obvious lack of judgement on the part of the police, Chief Mark Saunders tried desperately to defend the police’s actions during a CP24 interview yesterday evening.
“It’s unfortunate that things are being manufactured from that end, a little disingenuous. We have done everything we can.”
Source: https://www.cp24.com/video?clipId=1998070
However, according to defence lawyer Saron Gebresellassi, it is the police chief and his underlings that are guilty of manufacturing false narratives. She took the time today to explain the inaccuracies in Saunders’ and other police officers’ statements last night.
Gebresellassi attacked police’s claim that 2 out 3 detainees were released earlier in the evening yesterday. According to Gebresellassi, and several people close to the scene, that was not true. When this was brought up during the press conference, many people yelled “lies” in regards to the police’s comments.
Rodney Diverlus, an advocate affiliated with Black Lives Matter, accused police of spreading lies and propaganda, with a specific focus on some of the comments made by Mark Saunders last night.
Despite mass protests and other civil actions, Toronto Police are accused of not getting the message. One advocate called out the police for being disingenuous and dishonest in its attempts to reconcile with the Black community.
Concerned Canadians took to social media, and have made additional accusations regarding dishonesty from Toronto Police. Some refer to disinformation, some mention the police’s astronomical budget, some referred to both.
Saron Gebresellassi took to Twitter later in the day, to give a statement on her account of events, which vary dramatically from that of Chief Mark Saunders and his underlings. Either all these people are lying, or it’s the police that are the ones not telling the truth.
Next Steps
It is still unclear who the prosecuting attorney will be for this case.
Once that is figured out, Saron Gebresellassi recommends putting as much pressure on that person, and their office as humanly possible, until they get the message and drop the charges.
Until then, people can continue sharing articles like this to friends and family, and remind them of the disinformation being spread by Toronto Police.
The hashtag #BLMToronto continues to trend at the time of writing this article, and it is recommend concerned Canadians continue to use that hashtag.
Article by: Mark Slapinski