TORONTO - He might very well have been one the bravest people in the whole upside-down city.
My regret is I didn't get his name. But I did get his picture.
If there's ever a public inquiry into the insanity surrounding the G20, one of the witnesses I'd call to the stand is this man -- one of the very few heroic citizens in Toronto last Saturday.
Just like the guy who tackled a looter at the Bell Store, this man also showed great guts on Yonge St. when all hell broke loose.
It was all-out anarchy. Hooligans, camouflaged in black, controlled the downtown and did pretty much whatever they chose. Four police cars were burned, dozens of businesses damaged, merchants and customers terrorized.
The police -- 19,000 strong and armed to the teeth -- were elsewhere. Some, however, were caught on camera running away from the angry mob. You can't blame those coppers for taking off, but there'll be no medals of valour coming their way. There should be one, though, for this middle-aged man with white hair and glasses -- and with no riot gear or backup.
As a rioter, dressed in black from head to toe, was obliterating window after window, this mysterious man grabbed what appeared to be a female and put her in a bear hug, trying to execute a citizens' arrest.
But he was all alone.
Within seconds, he was being pummelled with sticks and fists by her feral friends -- forcing him to let her go. If he was a cop working undercover, he deserves a medal. But that's doubtful, because so many frustrated, upset and embarrassed officers have told me they were given explicit orders not to engage the Black Bloc rioters.
If he was a Good Samaritan, hopefully he won't face the same fate as Chinatown grocer David Chen, who's before the courts for his attempt to detain a menacing shoplifter.
They could have used this gutsy guy moments later up at police headquarters on College St. where dozens of officers in riot gear stood down as the criminal garbage smashed their windows. There were many scenes like this with no arrests. Will this be investigated?
A section of Criminal Code covers "neglect by peace officer," stating "a peace officer who receives notice that there is a riot within his jurisdiction and, without reasonable excuse, fails to take all reasonable steps to suppress the riot is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years."
Not sure if it applies to a senior officer's orders?
So far, more than 32,000 people have signed a Facebook petition calling for an independent inquiry to sort this out and another 300 people have signed an online petition asking for Chief Bill Blair's resignation.
Sadly the political power base is going to try to avoid an inquiry, so the public may have to rely on mainstream media and bloggers to piece all of this together.
Since the police and politicians work for us, the areas of concern for many include:
Why didn't police take down the Black Bloc prior to, or during, their rampage when they clearly could have? Why did they then arrest or accost almost anybody who looked even slightly alternative, even if they were nowhere near this trouble?
Were innocent Torontonians treated with respect inside the temporary lockup? Who decided to confine innocent citizens at Queen St. and Spadina Ave. on Sunday with no proper warning?
Was it appropriate and legal to use weaponry at protest scenes? What went on behind the scenes with the supposedly new secret arrest powers that didn't exist?
When is an apology going to be made to the public for presenting evidence to strengthen their case when many of these items had nothing to do with the G20?
Finally, anybody know who the brave man was on Yonge? I'd like to shake his hand.
joe.warmington@sunmedia.ca
