An Ontario father's tale of abuse at the hands of the police during the G20 summit in Toronto is sparking outrage on the Internet.
John Pruyn, a 57-year-old amputee from Thorold, Ont., says he was sitting on the grass at Queen's Park with his daughter Saturday, June 26, taking in peaceful demonstrations when a stream of riot police stormed the area.
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The G20 Aftermath
John Pruyn, a 57-year-old amputee from Thorold, Ont., says he was sitting on the grass at Queen's Park with his daughter Saturday, June 26, when he was violently accosted by G20 riot police. He alleges officers ripped off his prosthetic limb before beating him and dragging him across pavement. John is seen with his wife Susan at their home in Thorold, Ontario.
Doug Draper/Niagara at Large
AP
Inside the Security Zone
Police officers hold back demonstrators protesting the G8/G20 summits June 25, 2010 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The protest was one of several planned in the city to coincide with the gathering of world leaders for the G20 and G8 summits being held in Toronto and nearby Muskoka June 25-27.
Inside the Security Zone
Manuel Aragon protests the G8/G20 summits June 25, 2010 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The G20 and G8 summits are being held in Toronto and nearby Muskoka June 25-27.
Inside the Security Zone
A demonstrator protesting the G8/G20 holds a sign in the face of police officers following a march though downtown June 25, 2010 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The march was one of several planned in the city to coincide with the gathering of world leaders for the G20 and G8 summits being held in Toronto and nearby Muskoka June 25-27.
Inside the Security Zone
The Feminist March files down College St. on June 25, 2010 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The march was one of several planned in the city to coincide with the gathering of world leaders for the G20 and G8 summits being held in Toronto and nearby Muskoka June 25-27.
Inside the Security Zone
Demonstrators protesting the G8/G20 summits march though downtown June 25, 2010 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The protest was one of several planned in the city to coincide with the gathering of world leaders for the G20 and G8 summits being held in Toronto and nearby Muskoka June 25-27.
Inside the Security Zone
A demonstrator protesting the G8/G20 summits stands in front of a wall of Toronto Police Officers as the Feminist March makes its way through downtown June 25, 2010 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The protest was one of several planned in the city to coincide with the gathering of world leaders for the G20 and G8 summits being held in Toronto and nearby Muskoka June 25-27.
Inside the Security Zone
Toronto Police Officers wear riot helmets as the Feminist March makes its way through downtown June 25, 2010 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The protest was one of several planned in the city to coincide with the gathering of world leaders for the G20 and G8 summits being held in Toronto and nearby Muskoka June 25-27.
Inside the Security Zone
He told Doug Draper, of the online news site
Niagara at Large, that police became violent with him when he was slow to move due to the prosthetic limb he wears on his left leg, which was amputated after a farming accident 17 years ago.
He alleges police ripped off the artificial leg, grabbed his walking sticks, and tied his hands before telling him to hop, even as his daughter and bystanders pleaded with the police to give him time to move. Impatient officers began "kicking and hitting" Pruyn, with one officer allegedly pressing Pruyn's head to the ground with his knee, before he was dragged along on the pavement. A week later, Pruyn says his head is still hurting.
Through it all, the Revenue Canada employee was accused of "resisting arrest" and of spitting on police -- something he says he did not do.
However, the ordeal didn't end there for Pruyn. He was taken to a make-shift detention centre where he was kept in a jail cell before being released the next day. Pruyn says police never gave him a reason for his arrest.
"John's story is one of the most shocking of the whole (G20 summit) weekend," Peter Kormos, the Ontario New Democratic Party's justice critic, told
Niagara at Large. "He is not a young man and he is an amputee. ... John is not a troublemaker. He is a peacemaker and like most of the people who were arrested, he was never charged with anything, which raises questions about why they were arrested in the first place."
Reaction to the story has been swift, with some commenters calling for a full public inquiry into the police response.
"How could large numbers of Canadians turn a blind eye to this terrible story and still cling to the opinion that authorities acted responsibly on that dreadful weekend -- or, worse, that merely by being on the scene everyone present was 'asking for it'?" asked reader Bruce Dickson.
