G8/G20 Communiqué: Toronto police search for the G20 worst of the worst

Fresh from the sting of having 73 G20-related cases dropped or settled in court [2] on Monday August 23, 2010, the police fought back with a new Most Wanted list of G20 activists. These are allegedly the bad boys (+girls) of the Summit protests, les menace to society.

This isn't the first time the police have used the media to host duelling press conferences and media releases to shape public opinion.

At the very least, the release of such a sensationalized criminal list was a cynical attempt to buy media attention away from all the failed G20 charges that triggered more calls for a G20 inquiry [3] and back to their law and order agenda. This isn't the first time the police have used the media to host duelling press conferences [4] and media releases against the activist community.

I'm still waiting for the G20 Investigative Team to release this G2O dangerous offenders list. [5]

Detective Sergeant Gary Giroux, of the Toronto Police G20 Investigative Team, released new videos and photographs [6] on Thursday of people wanted in connection with damage caused during the G20 Summit, specifically on June 26, 2010. The police are appealing yet again for the public's helping in apprehending activists but this time, they claim they are looking for "the worse of the worst" from the G20.

According to an interview done by the Toronto Star [7], "These are the most prolific individuals in terms of damage done to the city." Two of the most notorious alleged vandals - you can view a Toronto police release about one of the pair here [8] - were from New York.  

A Toronto detective embedded with the New York City police department and an officer stationed with US  border guards are helping investigators track down the pair, who "are single-handedly responsible for thousands of dollars worth of damage," Giroux said.

"Their agenda was to come here and not protest peacefully but deliberately to damage then very calmly return to the United States. To me, it's even more offensive than someone who's caught up in the mob mentality of it," he said.

Responding to the obvious question regarding whether these new charges would also be dropped at the first court date like so many were on August 23, 2010, Giroux was, "confident any charges laid against these individuals won't be dropped because police have a massive amount of photographic evidence - about 28,000 still images and as many as 600 videos."

So far, 20 people have already been arrested by Giroux's 22 member Investigative Team since the G20 summit in late June, 2010. These individuals face a total of 60 charges.

Other arrests by the G20 Investigative team [6] include individuals that police alleged were involved in "criminal activity" on Saturday June 26, 2010, include:

--Kurt Roarco, 22, of no fixed address, was first arrested and charged on July 18, 2010.

1) Mischief over $5,000

2) Arson - damage to property

3) Failing to comply with probation.

-- Andrew Loughrin, 23, of Toronto, was arrested on Sunday, July 18, 2010 and charged with:

1) Mischief over $5,000.

--Michael Corbett, 29, of Toronto, was arrested on Monday, July 19, 2010 and charged with:

1) Mischief over $5,000.

--Bryan O'Handley, 19, of Toronto, was arrested on Monday, July 19, 2010 and charged with:

1) Mischief of $5,000.

--Jeffrey Delaney, 23, of Toronto, was arrested on Monday, July 19, 2010 and charged with:

1) Mischief over $5,000

2) Attempt Theft Over $5,000.

--Robert Kainola, 24, of Toronto, was arrested on Monday, July 19, 2010 and charged with:

1) Mischief over $5,000.

--A young offender, who cannot be named under the Youth Criminal Justice Act, was arrested on Monday, July 19, 2010 and charged with:

1) Two counts of Mischief over $5,000.

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