Police in Toronto arrested nearly 900 people over the G20 summit weekend. (Darren Calabrese/Canadian Press)
Clashes between protesters and police during the G20 summit in downtown Toronto led to nearly 900 arrests over the weekend.
A Saturday march that drew thousands of people -- estimates ranged from 4,000 to 10,000 -- carried on peacefully before up to 300 militant members in the crowd began to vandalize storefronts and vehicles in mid-afternoon, including setting fire to police cruisers.
The confrontations carried over to Sunday. During a demonstration in the city's east end, police fired at least half a dozen rubber bullets and arrested several people.
Later in the day, about 80 people were detained and some were seen being strip-searched in front of Parkdale Community Legal Services on Queen Street West. About 40 of them had been preparing to board a bus bound for Quebec when the police surrounded them, freelance journalist Rebecca Granofvsky-Larsen told CBC News.
Police in full riot gear continued to arrest several protesters well into Sunday evening at the major intersection of Queen Street and Spadina Avenue, just blocks away from the summit site.
Toronto Mayor David Miller said that the city's "police acquitted themselves very well."
"If you step outside of Canada for a moment, these kinds of summits attract violent protests, they have everywhere," he told CBC News.
Amnesty International Canada, however, is calling for an independent review of the G8/G20 security measures.
How do you think police handled G20 security? Was the response to the protests appropriate? Let us know below.
http://www.cbc.ca/news/pointofview/2010/06/g20-police-response-was-it-appropriate.html
