Link: http://www.globeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20031212.upnch1212/BNStory/National/
Amateur video shows police beating Toronto Somali
By JEFF GRAY
From Friday's Globe and Mail
Police Chief Julian Fantino has launched an internal police investigation after an amateur videotape surfaced of an officer punching a man in the face in an Etobicoke parking lot.
“We're going to get to the bottom of it. ... I appreciate the fact that we've been given an opportunity to delve into it. And we're doing that, and there will be answers. And when those are available, we'll make those known,†he told reporters yesterday.
It was a day of controversy for the chief, who also faced calls from the Law Union of Ontario for an investigation of allegations that he supported the provincial Tories and the mayoral candidacy of John Tory, suggestions Chief Fantino denied.
“I was endorsing no candidate. I've never endorsed a candidate,†he said after a Police Services Board meeting.
The case of the videotaped punch came up awkwardly just a day after Chief Fantino denounced suggestions from the Ontario Human Rights Commission that police cruisers be outfitted with video cameras to monitor police conduct and to fight racial profiling.
Early on Aug. 4, the Monday morning of Caribana weekend, officers arrived at a doughnut shop parking lot near Highway 27 and Albion Road to break up a fight in which the combatants were using a knife and a motorcycle helmet as weapons.
A videotape taken by witnesses appears to show Jama Jama, a 21-year-old landed immigrant from Somalia, trying to stop the fight before police arrive. Once officers from 23 Division show up, the tape, as broadcast on CITY-TV, appears to show a gloved officer gritting his teeth, grabbing Mr. Jama and punching him in the face, apparently unprovoked.
Mr. Jama says he then tried to escape, like everyone else in the parking lot that night who had gathered after a nearby party ended. “I didn't wait for the next punch; I ran,†he said yesterday in an interview.
After dashing across the road, he said, he decided to stop, put his hands up and surrender peacefully to police. But he was knocked to the ground and beaten again, he said, this time by four officers, in a frenzy of kicking and stomping that left him with a tooth missing and a bloodied face.
His lawyer, Andrew Vaughan, said relatives later found Mr. Jama's missing tooth near the scene.
Mr. Jama was examined in hospital before being taken to a police station and charged with assaulting a police officer and disturbing the peace. Police accounts of that night, Mr. Vaughan said, accuse Mr. Jama of pushing an officer and claim that his injuries were sustained in the fighting before police arrived. The videotape appears to show him unscathed before the police appeared, his lawyer said.
Mr. Jama, who came to Canada from the Somali capital, Mogadishu in 1995, could be deported if convicted, Mr. Vaughan said. He said his client has no criminal record.
Mr. Vaughan denied planning the public release of the tape, which he has had for months, to coincide with the debate over video cameras on police cruisers, saying he was waiting for police to disclose the evidence they had against his client. Going public was then delayed by the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and by the collapse of the Uptown Theatre, he said.
The accusations about Chief Fantino's political biases yesterday came from Howard Morton, a spokesman for the Law Union of Ontario, a lawyers group. He asked the Police Services Board to investigate whether the chief's actions breached the Police Services Act, which forbids political activism by police officers.
During the mayoral campaign, Chief Fantino made repeated pleas for more police officers, a central plank in Mr. Tory's campaign.
Yesterday, the Police Services Board refused to consider Mr. Morton's complaint, saying he should put it in writing. Mr. Morton responded that he did not want to file a written complaint because it would be dealt with in secret.
Also yesterday, the new head of the Toronto Police Association vowed to continue endorsing political candidates. Rick McIntosh told the Police Services Board that the association, like all labour groups, enjoys the constitutional right. to be politically active. His union, he said, will be involved in the federal election expected in the spring.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another link: http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Co...640&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154
Officer's punch caught on tape
Man charged with shoving constable
Attack on him ignored in reports
BETSY POWELL
CRIME REPORTER
A videotape is at the centre of allegations that a 21-year-old man charged with assaulting a Toronto police officer was himself the victim of an unprovoked punch by an officer during an early morning fracas outside a doughnut shop.
The videotape is now in the hands of city police internal affairs investigators.
The recording made by Ottawa tourists last Aug. 4 of the incident outside a Tim Hortons outlet on Albion Rd. near Highway 27 has just been released by the criminal lawyer representing Said Jama Jama.
The Somali-born warehouse worker was charged with assaulting a police officer and causing a disturbance. His trial date is set for June 7.
But his lawyer, Andrew Vaughan, says the crown should instead withdraw the charges.
Jama Jama says he did nothing to incite the officer and claims he was subsequently chased and beaten by police.
Four officers say in their notes Jama Jama pushed the officer, but none mention that Jama Jama was punched by a police officer.
Police also say Jama Jama told them his injuries were the result of an earlier fight at the party. Jama Jama denies this and in an earlier portion of the tape, before police arrived, he appears to be uninjured.
The amateur videotape includes audio and footage shot from inside a car in the parking lot outside the doughnut shop.
It captures a few minutes of two groups of men arguing and, as things heat up, some pushing and shoving. Throughout the videotaped altercation, Jama Jama, wearing an oversized white T-shirt, jeans and a hat, can be seen acting as a peacemaker.
When a police cruiser pulls up and into the range of the video camera, Jama Jama appears to be crouching over one of the combatants before most of them scatter and run away. Jama Jama, however, remains and stands with his hands down at his side. The camera follows two officers leaving their vehicle and then one of them as he moves toward Jama Jama.
The camera momentarily veers away — the person behind the camera appears to duck down — and there are a few seconds where Jama Jama and the officer can't be seen. But a moment later, the tape clearly shows the officer grabbing Jama Jama, throwing him against a car and punching him in the face with his gloved left fist. "This is abhorrent police misconduct," Vaughan said yesterday.
Chief Julian Fantino has seen the videotape. "We're going to get to the bottom of it," he said yesterday outside a police services board meeting. "I appreciate the fact that we have been given the opportunity to delve into it. And we're doing that and there will be answers, and when those are available we'll make those known. And in the meantime we just have to let the investigators do their work."
At his lawyer's office yesterday, a soft-spoken Jama Jama disputed the officers' claim that he provoked Constable Roy Preston. "This guy was big. There's no way that I could put my hands on the officer." Jama Jama is 5-foot-7 and weighed about 135 pounds at the time of the incident.
On the desk in front of Jama Jama yesterday was a collection of photographs he said were taken the following day. They show him with a badly bruised face, swollen lip and a missing tooth. Jama Jama says the brunt of his injuries happened across the road when four officers caught up to him. There is no videotape footage of what happened after Jama Jama ran from the scene.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
`This guy was big. There's no way that I could put my hands on the officer.'
Said Jama Jama, 21, on charges he assaulted an officer
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In his notes, Preston says the accused (Jama Jama) apologized for hitting him. His notes also refer to Jama Jama telling officers he was injured during fights at a party held earlier in the evening to celebrate Caribana.
Jama Jama said he and others gathered outside Tim Hortons did attend an earlier party on Albion Rd. where police were called because of disturbances. But Jama Jama said he was not involved in fights at the party.
Also released by Vaughan yesterday was the police synopsis of the incident and photocopies of the officers' notes. Vaughan says he waited to see the crown's evidence before acknowledging the existence of the videotape. Prior to the start of a trial, the crown must turn over all evidence as part of mandatory disclosure rules.
No one disputes an altercation among a group of men was taking place when police pulled up outside the doughnut shop at 5:15 a.m. on Aug. 4.
"Officers identified themselves as they approached and PC Roy Preston took control of one of the combatants, the accused, by grabbing his arm. The accused turned around and with both arms struck out at the officer, hitting him in the upper chest. The accused broke free from the officer and began running," reads the synopsis written by Constable Doreen Molyneaux of 23 Division.
"The officers who came on scene observed the accused assault PC Preston and took up chase. The accused was subdued a short distance away, arrested and transported to 23 Division."
There is no mention of Preston punching Jama Jama. Preston and other officers don't mention a punch either.
"I have male by the arm (left) bringing him to side of vehicle," reads arresting officer Preston's account. "Male strikes out with both arms hitting me in upper chest. Tell male to stop resisting and attempt to take control of male, male again breaks free and starts running over boulevard north over Albion Rd."
Constable Jason Taylor's notes describe similar circumstances.
"Observe P.C. Preston #99925 attempt to take physical control of male — took male by left arm. Male resists by swinging both arms and striking P.C. Preston #99925 in upper chest. P.C. Preston #99925 attempt to again control of male. Male runs north across Albion Rd. into ditch."
Fantino was asked by reporters yesterday about the status of the officers while the investigation is ongoing. "I can't tell you that right now because that's a determination that is going to have to be made as the investigation progresses."
Jama Jama, who is a landed immigrant after arriving in Canada from Somalia in 1995, has no criminal convictions. He said yesterday he is still suffering from his injuries and feels badly because he feels the officers "wanted to destroy my dignity or destroy my life when they charge me for something I didn't commit."
He says he shouldn't have run away but was scared and didn't want to wait for the next blow. "I wasn't thinking, but I know it's bad to run from the cops."
Vaughan said he's not trying to make this into a racial incident. "I'm not saying that the division where these police officers came from is a bad division. I'm not casting aspersions on that division or the Toronto Police Service as a whole."
But Vaughan says it is a good thing there is a videotape, and Jama Jama concurs. "Oh man, I'm lucky. Imagine if there was no tape what would happen to me. Probably I would be going back home for no reason."
A landed immigrant can be deported if he commits a criminal offence.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ther is no way this can be true!!!!!!! These incidents were not mentioned in the police reports!!! Who would believe the suspect, just trying to save his own putrid skin? At least, restitution for soiling the officers gloves?
Amateur video shows police beating Toronto Somali
By JEFF GRAY
From Friday's Globe and Mail
Police Chief Julian Fantino has launched an internal police investigation after an amateur videotape surfaced of an officer punching a man in the face in an Etobicoke parking lot.
“We're going to get to the bottom of it. ... I appreciate the fact that we've been given an opportunity to delve into it. And we're doing that, and there will be answers. And when those are available, we'll make those known,†he told reporters yesterday.
It was a day of controversy for the chief, who also faced calls from the Law Union of Ontario for an investigation of allegations that he supported the provincial Tories and the mayoral candidacy of John Tory, suggestions Chief Fantino denied.
“I was endorsing no candidate. I've never endorsed a candidate,†he said after a Police Services Board meeting.
The case of the videotaped punch came up awkwardly just a day after Chief Fantino denounced suggestions from the Ontario Human Rights Commission that police cruisers be outfitted with video cameras to monitor police conduct and to fight racial profiling.
Early on Aug. 4, the Monday morning of Caribana weekend, officers arrived at a doughnut shop parking lot near Highway 27 and Albion Road to break up a fight in which the combatants were using a knife and a motorcycle helmet as weapons.
A videotape taken by witnesses appears to show Jama Jama, a 21-year-old landed immigrant from Somalia, trying to stop the fight before police arrive. Once officers from 23 Division show up, the tape, as broadcast on CITY-TV, appears to show a gloved officer gritting his teeth, grabbing Mr. Jama and punching him in the face, apparently unprovoked.
Mr. Jama says he then tried to escape, like everyone else in the parking lot that night who had gathered after a nearby party ended. “I didn't wait for the next punch; I ran,†he said yesterday in an interview.
After dashing across the road, he said, he decided to stop, put his hands up and surrender peacefully to police. But he was knocked to the ground and beaten again, he said, this time by four officers, in a frenzy of kicking and stomping that left him with a tooth missing and a bloodied face.
His lawyer, Andrew Vaughan, said relatives later found Mr. Jama's missing tooth near the scene.
Mr. Jama was examined in hospital before being taken to a police station and charged with assaulting a police officer and disturbing the peace. Police accounts of that night, Mr. Vaughan said, accuse Mr. Jama of pushing an officer and claim that his injuries were sustained in the fighting before police arrived. The videotape appears to show him unscathed before the police appeared, his lawyer said.
Mr. Jama, who came to Canada from the Somali capital, Mogadishu in 1995, could be deported if convicted, Mr. Vaughan said. He said his client has no criminal record.
Mr. Vaughan denied planning the public release of the tape, which he has had for months, to coincide with the debate over video cameras on police cruisers, saying he was waiting for police to disclose the evidence they had against his client. Going public was then delayed by the Muslim holy month of Ramadan, and by the collapse of the Uptown Theatre, he said.
The accusations about Chief Fantino's political biases yesterday came from Howard Morton, a spokesman for the Law Union of Ontario, a lawyers group. He asked the Police Services Board to investigate whether the chief's actions breached the Police Services Act, which forbids political activism by police officers.
During the mayoral campaign, Chief Fantino made repeated pleas for more police officers, a central plank in Mr. Tory's campaign.
Yesterday, the Police Services Board refused to consider Mr. Morton's complaint, saying he should put it in writing. Mr. Morton responded that he did not want to file a written complaint because it would be dealt with in secret.
Also yesterday, the new head of the Toronto Police Association vowed to continue endorsing political candidates. Rick McIntosh told the Police Services Board that the association, like all labour groups, enjoys the constitutional right. to be politically active. His union, he said, will be involved in the federal election expected in the spring.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Another link: http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/Co...640&call_pageid=968332188492&col=968793972154
Officer's punch caught on tape
Man charged with shoving constable
Attack on him ignored in reports
BETSY POWELL
CRIME REPORTER
A videotape is at the centre of allegations that a 21-year-old man charged with assaulting a Toronto police officer was himself the victim of an unprovoked punch by an officer during an early morning fracas outside a doughnut shop.
The videotape is now in the hands of city police internal affairs investigators.
The recording made by Ottawa tourists last Aug. 4 of the incident outside a Tim Hortons outlet on Albion Rd. near Highway 27 has just been released by the criminal lawyer representing Said Jama Jama.
The Somali-born warehouse worker was charged with assaulting a police officer and causing a disturbance. His trial date is set for June 7.
But his lawyer, Andrew Vaughan, says the crown should instead withdraw the charges.
Jama Jama says he did nothing to incite the officer and claims he was subsequently chased and beaten by police.
Four officers say in their notes Jama Jama pushed the officer, but none mention that Jama Jama was punched by a police officer.
Police also say Jama Jama told them his injuries were the result of an earlier fight at the party. Jama Jama denies this and in an earlier portion of the tape, before police arrived, he appears to be uninjured.
The amateur videotape includes audio and footage shot from inside a car in the parking lot outside the doughnut shop.
It captures a few minutes of two groups of men arguing and, as things heat up, some pushing and shoving. Throughout the videotaped altercation, Jama Jama, wearing an oversized white T-shirt, jeans and a hat, can be seen acting as a peacemaker.
When a police cruiser pulls up and into the range of the video camera, Jama Jama appears to be crouching over one of the combatants before most of them scatter and run away. Jama Jama, however, remains and stands with his hands down at his side. The camera follows two officers leaving their vehicle and then one of them as he moves toward Jama Jama.
The camera momentarily veers away — the person behind the camera appears to duck down — and there are a few seconds where Jama Jama and the officer can't be seen. But a moment later, the tape clearly shows the officer grabbing Jama Jama, throwing him against a car and punching him in the face with his gloved left fist. "This is abhorrent police misconduct," Vaughan said yesterday.
Chief Julian Fantino has seen the videotape. "We're going to get to the bottom of it," he said yesterday outside a police services board meeting. "I appreciate the fact that we have been given the opportunity to delve into it. And we're doing that and there will be answers, and when those are available we'll make those known. And in the meantime we just have to let the investigators do their work."
At his lawyer's office yesterday, a soft-spoken Jama Jama disputed the officers' claim that he provoked Constable Roy Preston. "This guy was big. There's no way that I could put my hands on the officer." Jama Jama is 5-foot-7 and weighed about 135 pounds at the time of the incident.
On the desk in front of Jama Jama yesterday was a collection of photographs he said were taken the following day. They show him with a badly bruised face, swollen lip and a missing tooth. Jama Jama says the brunt of his injuries happened across the road when four officers caught up to him. There is no videotape footage of what happened after Jama Jama ran from the scene.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
`This guy was big. There's no way that I could put my hands on the officer.'
Said Jama Jama, 21, on charges he assaulted an officer
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
In his notes, Preston says the accused (Jama Jama) apologized for hitting him. His notes also refer to Jama Jama telling officers he was injured during fights at a party held earlier in the evening to celebrate Caribana.
Jama Jama said he and others gathered outside Tim Hortons did attend an earlier party on Albion Rd. where police were called because of disturbances. But Jama Jama said he was not involved in fights at the party.
Also released by Vaughan yesterday was the police synopsis of the incident and photocopies of the officers' notes. Vaughan says he waited to see the crown's evidence before acknowledging the existence of the videotape. Prior to the start of a trial, the crown must turn over all evidence as part of mandatory disclosure rules.
No one disputes an altercation among a group of men was taking place when police pulled up outside the doughnut shop at 5:15 a.m. on Aug. 4.
"Officers identified themselves as they approached and PC Roy Preston took control of one of the combatants, the accused, by grabbing his arm. The accused turned around and with both arms struck out at the officer, hitting him in the upper chest. The accused broke free from the officer and began running," reads the synopsis written by Constable Doreen Molyneaux of 23 Division.
"The officers who came on scene observed the accused assault PC Preston and took up chase. The accused was subdued a short distance away, arrested and transported to 23 Division."
There is no mention of Preston punching Jama Jama. Preston and other officers don't mention a punch either.
"I have male by the arm (left) bringing him to side of vehicle," reads arresting officer Preston's account. "Male strikes out with both arms hitting me in upper chest. Tell male to stop resisting and attempt to take control of male, male again breaks free and starts running over boulevard north over Albion Rd."
Constable Jason Taylor's notes describe similar circumstances.
"Observe P.C. Preston #99925 attempt to take physical control of male — took male by left arm. Male resists by swinging both arms and striking P.C. Preston #99925 in upper chest. P.C. Preston #99925 attempt to again control of male. Male runs north across Albion Rd. into ditch."
Fantino was asked by reporters yesterday about the status of the officers while the investigation is ongoing. "I can't tell you that right now because that's a determination that is going to have to be made as the investigation progresses."
Jama Jama, who is a landed immigrant after arriving in Canada from Somalia in 1995, has no criminal convictions. He said yesterday he is still suffering from his injuries and feels badly because he feels the officers "wanted to destroy my dignity or destroy my life when they charge me for something I didn't commit."
He says he shouldn't have run away but was scared and didn't want to wait for the next blow. "I wasn't thinking, but I know it's bad to run from the cops."
Vaughan said he's not trying to make this into a racial incident. "I'm not saying that the division where these police officers came from is a bad division. I'm not casting aspersions on that division or the Toronto Police Service as a whole."
But Vaughan says it is a good thing there is a videotape, and Jama Jama concurs. "Oh man, I'm lucky. Imagine if there was no tape what would happen to me. Probably I would be going back home for no reason."
A landed immigrant can be deported if he commits a criminal offence.
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Ther is no way this can be true!!!!!!! These incidents were not mentioned in the police reports!!! Who would believe the suspect, just trying to save his own putrid skin? At least, restitution for soiling the officers gloves?
