bebe Posted July 21, 2010 Report Posted July 21, 2010 (edited) Toronto Police staged a display of weaponry to demonstrate “the extent of the criminal conspiracy” among hard-line G20 protesters, but several of the items had nothing to do with the summit. Facing criticism for their tactics, police invited journalists on Tuesday to view a range of weapons, from a machete and baseball bat to bear spray and crowbars. Chief Bill Blair, who told reporters the items were evidence of the protesters’ intent, singled out arrows covered in sports socks, which he said were designed to be dipped in a flammable liquid and set ablaze. However, the arrows belong to Brian Barrett, a 25-year-old landscaper who was heading to a role-playing fantasy game when he was stopped at Union Station on Saturday morning. Police took his jousting gear but let Mr. Barrett go, saying it was a case of bad timing. In addition to the arrows – which Mr. Barrett made safe for live-action role playing by cutting off the pointy ends and attaching a bit of pool noodle covered in socks – police displayed his metal body armour, foam shields and several clubs made of plastic tubing covered with foam and fabric. Mr. Barrett said he was “appalled” at the placement of his chain-mail beneath a machete. He regularly takes public transit from his Whitby, Ont., home to Centennial Park to play the game, called Amtgard, while wearing the 85-pound armour and is worried people will think: “Oh my God, that’s one of the terrorists from G20.” Police also displayed a crossbow and chainsaw seized in an incident on Friday that they said had no ties to the summit. When asked, Chief Blair acknowledged they were unrelated, but said “everything else” had been confiscated from demonstrators. On Wednesday, however, Michael Went and Doug Kerr e-mailed a letter to Chief Blair saying their bamboo poles may have been included in the exhibit. As they headed to a picnic to commemorate the 1969 Stonewall riots on Sunday morning, police seized seven or eight of the long poles, citing the G20 summit. The couple had planned to use the poles to fly a rainbow flag and decorate the park. “It makes you wonder what are the other things that they’ve displayed [that] were taken from people on the street that weren’t doing anything wrong?” asked Mr. Kerr, a 42-year-old management consultant. Julian Falconer, a Toronto lawyer representing four independent journalists in summit-related police complaints, called the display of unrelated objects a “public-relations exercise [that] borders on the absurd.” Well ... who needs to bother making the police look silly when they accomplish that all by themselves!! Protest HQ with pool noodles and bubbles anyone? Edited July 21, 2010 by bebe Quote
GostHacked Posted July 21, 2010 Report Posted July 21, 2010 (edited) Gotta stop those LARPers somehow!!! Lightnight bolt X 3 I bet this is not the only incident like that preceding the G20. Thanks for the post bebe. Edited July 21, 2010 by GostHacked Quote
bebe Posted July 21, 2010 Author Report Posted July 21, 2010 Gotta stop those LARPers somehow!!! Lightnight bolt X 3 I bet this is not the only incident like that preceding the G20. Thanks for the post bebe. LARPers ...? live-action role playing oh ... The possibilities are endless ... kid going to play baseball with a bat or ... omigod ... (street) hockey sticks!! The weapons people carry these days! No wonder the police are scared! Quote
GostHacked Posted July 21, 2010 Report Posted July 21, 2010 LARPers ...? live-action role playing oh ... The possibilities are endless ... kid going to play baseball with a bat or ... omigod ... (street) hockey sticks!! The weapons people carry these days! No wonder the police are scared! Even under all that armor the police still don't feel quite safe. Quote
ZenOps Posted July 21, 2010 Report Posted July 21, 2010 If there is one thing that Team Fortress has taught me, is that a bow and arrow beats a minigun anyday. Quote
GostHacked Posted July 21, 2010 Report Posted July 21, 2010 If there is one thing that Team Fortress has taught me, is that a bow and arrow beats a minigun anyday. <heavy> OHHH NOOOOOOOOOO !!!!!</heavy> <sniper> Thanks for standing still wanker!</sniper> Quote
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