Communiqué de presse
SIU Re-opens Barton G20 Investigation Again
Numéro du dossier: 10-TCI-116
Les autres communiqués de presse concernant le cas 10-TCI-116
L'UES rouvre une enquête sur le G20
L'UES sollicite l'aide du public pour obtenir des renseignements sur une enquête du G20 rouverte
Mississauga (26 mai 2011) --- The Director of the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), Ian Scott, has reopened the investigation into the injuries sustained by 29-year-old Dorian Barton during the G20 demonstrations in Toronto in June 2010.
The initial SIU investigation determined that Mr. Barton was at the intersection of University Avenue and College Street in the early afternoon of June 26, 2010. There was a line of mounted police officers on his left and anti-riot officers standing in front of the demonstrators. Mr. Barton had turned around to take pictures of the mounted police officers with his cellular camera unaware that anti-riot officers were marching toward the crowd. Mr. Barton was taken to the ground and arrested, sustaining a fracture to his right arm. During the first investigation, Mr. Barton could not identify the officers involved in his arrest or fully explain how the injury occurred, and the remainder of the evidence was not capable of resolving this question. The investigation was closed on November 25, 2010.
On January 12, 2011, the SIU received seven photographs of the arrest of Mr. Barton. After reviewing the new evidence Director Scott re-opened the investigation on January 14, 2011. SIU investigators interviewed twelve officers and two new civilian witnesses. According to the two civilian witnesses, Mr. Barton was first struck with a riot shield causing him to fall down and then struck a number of times with a baton or batons (there may have been more than one officer involved). Neither civilian witness could adequately identify the officer or officers involved in striking Mr. Barton. The photographs were shown to eleven witness officers in an attempt to identify any officers involved in striking Mr. Barton. While a number of officers in the vicinity were identified, none of the witness officers could identify the perpetrator or perpetrators of the strikes against Mr. Barton. The investigation was subsequently closed on May 16.
Today, the SIU has re-opened the investigation. Director Scott said, "The SIU asked the Toronto Police Service on multiple occasions for the method it used to identify the involved officers in the Barton incident. The first request for this information was sent to Chief Blair’s office on January 20, 2011. While the TPS provided the SIU with the name of the subject officer in a timely fashion that, in my view, was not adequate. We asked for the name of the person who made the identification so that we could take a statement from that individual. That information was not forthcoming. Finally, on May 25, 2011, the Service has agreed to provide the Unit with that name. In anticipation of the timely receipt of this new information, the Unit is re-opening the Barton investigation."
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L’UES est un organisme gouvernemental indépendant qui enquête sur la conduite d’agents (agents de police municipaux, régionaux et provinciaux, agents du Service de police Nishnawbe-Aski, agents spéciaux de la Commission des parcs du Niagara et agents de la paix du Service de protection de l’Assemblée législative) qui pourrait avoir entraîné un décès, une blessure grave, la perpétration de violences sexuelles ou la décharge d’une arme à feu sur une personne. Toutes les enquêtes sont menées par des enquêteurs de l'UES qui sont des civils. En vertu de la Loi sur l'Unité des enquêtes spéciales, le directeur de l'UES doit :
- considérer si un agent a commis une infraction criminelle en lien avec l'incident faisant l'objet de l'enquête;
- selon le dossier de preuve, faire porter une accusation criminelle contre l'agent, s'il existe des motifs de le faire, ou clôre le dossier sans faire porter d'accusations;
- rendre compte publiquement des résultats de ses enquêtes.