Organized mob used G20 tactics
Police say the ‘black bloc’ group shed their dark clothing, masks during Locke Street attacks
An organized masked mob that wreaked havoc on the Kirkendall North neighbourhood Saturday night employed strategies similar to those used during the 2010 G20 riots in Toronto.
The group of 30 people, brandishing a banner that read ‘We Are The Ungovernable,’ donned black clothing and face coverings to conceal their identities — a tactic called “black bloc,” Insp. Paul Hamilton said on Monday.
After smashing a handful of storefront windows with rocks, lighting fireworks and setting off smoke bombs, they fled — some on foot and others by vehicle — from Locke Street South, ditching their clothing after the unprecedented attack.
Police fanned out in the area, but the group’s tactics made them tough to track, Hamilton said.
“They’ll strip off their black clothing and now they’re wearing something orange, and then they go down another street and they strip that clothing off, and it becomes very difficult,” he said. “Our immediate concern was for the public safety.”
Police believe they have recovered pieces of clothing, including some tucked in neighbourhood driveways, as well as information about some of
the getaway cars used, but no arrests have been made.
Who is responsible and what their motives are is not clear, but police are investigating a possible link to the anarchist book fair that took place in the city over the weekend.
Later Monday, a sheet of plywood boarded up the window of The Tower, the meeting place of Hamilton anarchists on Cannon Street East at Victoria Avenue. A message was written across it in black letters: “We are not the least afraid of RUINS for we carry a new world here in our hearts” followed by the letter A in a circle, the anarchist symbol.
An anonymous poster on the website Anarchistnews.org claims to have taken part in the rampage, saying “all my worst bosses have been
small business owners — the problem isn’t the size of the business, it’s that the relationship is exploitative.”
The writer later adds: “Turning the tables and finally counterattacking Saturday night helped me to shake off some of the fear and frustration that build up when you’re trapped in a hopeless situation.”
The “one regret from the evening” was not smashing Starbucks, “only because it was just a little too far north.”
Given that police had no indication Saturday’s attack was coming, Hamilton believes it was planned and had “some organization to it.”
A We Are the Ungovernable sign was also displayed a local rally against police brutality downtown four years ago. It was about 9:30 p.m. Saturday when the first signs of trouble appeared in Durand Park on Park Street South, as police responded to a “mischief ” call.
Two officers arrived at 9:45 p.m. to find a large group forming that was hostile toward police and started chucking rocks at officers.
As police called for backup, those who’d gathered fled. Not long after, police started getting calls about a masked group in black gathered at Aberdeen Avenue and Queen Street South. The group started marching west, throwing rocks and setting off fireworks, while police followed at a “safe distance,” while continuing to be pelted by stones.
Faced with something he had never seen in his 28 years with the force, Hamilton, who was the duty officer, had to make a decision.
“I immediately directed officers to, unless persons were being injured, to stay at a safe distance, monitor and we would bring in the necessary resources to confront this group,” he said after he got the call at 10:08 p.m.
Police set up a command post at Locke and Herkimer about 10:15 p.m.
After a quick briefing, more than 30 officers from across the city — a contingent made up of police from the emergency response unit, the tactical and ACTION teams, mounted patrol and a K9 officer — started making their way north on Locke. That was when the group dispersed near Pine Street.
Ward 1 Coun. Aidan Johnson said neighbours have many questions, including about the chronology of events and how police responded.
He noted Police Chief Eric Girt will be at the Kirkendall Neighbourhood Association meeting Tuesday night to address some of the concerns.
Hamilton assured the police response would have been different had people been injured.
“Officers would have rushed in,” he said. “We wouldn’t have been able to hold them back.
“But in a situation like that, where you have a large, unruly group . ... If we don’t have a measured response to that ... it’s going to become out of control very quickly, and we’re going to probably make it worse,” he added.
Two days after the attack, police continue to canvass nearby businesses and homes for surveillance video, comb through social media and speak with witnesses.
While police have not made any “solid connection” to the anarchist book fair held at Westdale Secondary School over the weekend, they continue to examine the possibility.