OUCH! NOT GUILTY VERDICT FOR TORONTO COP AT G20

This I will say: One Toronto cop got extremely lucky last week. I read the quote by the eye witness and I saw the video of the incident on the internet. Clearly a cop at the G20 viciously assaulted, knocked down and then knocked down for a second time Dorian Barton causing a broken shoulder and other significant injuries. Mr. Barton was clearly identified in the video but the policeman due to uniform, helmut and crowds was not. That being said there was one independent eye witness whose testimony was diminished by the judge allegedly because of "the animosity he displayed toward the police" while on the stand. Apparently when one witnesses police brutality one must be very careful under oath not to display contempt or anger towards the accused. Boy I sure hope the judge has to explain that comment to someone, anyone. Meanwhile
the victim's father was quite upset with the Crown. He stated that relying on one witness only doomed the case from the start. Apparently the prosecuter was unwilling to put fellow officers on the stand who witnessed the assault. Left unsaid was the term the blue line or closing the ranks.

The Waterloo Region Record carried the results of the officer's trial in last Saturday's Record. The story was titled "Officer not guilty of G20 assault charges" and to date I haven't been able to link it back to the Record's website. The acquited officer was Const. Glenn Weddell of the Toronto Police Force. Comments made by the president of the Toronto Police Association strain credulity as this acquittal of a specific officer did not diminish the evidence that a criminal assault took place by a police officer upon Mr. Barton.