JOIN THE COPS! kick some ass!

I'm not really up for the usual frivolity today. I just read this account of the immigrant owner of a gay nightclub and his family being assaulted by the Toronto Police Department, and it's knocked me right out of the mood.

they ran behind the bar where i was still on the phone with 911, and as i screamed for help the phone dropped and i was pummelled to the ground. i was continuously punched in the face, kicked in the ribs, and twisted. i thought at first that they wanted to arrest me, so i loosened my arm for them to handcuff.

instead, my arms were stretched out so i would be out of fetal position while i was viciously assaulted. one officer grabbed me by the hair and started smashing my head on the tile floor while another officer was smashing my neck, face, shoulders, and knees with his boot, pounding it down on my face, neck and shoulder.

they said things like,” you had to be a fucking smartass didn’t you.” , “we’re so gonna fuck you up. oh boy, your gonna wish you were dead when we’re through with you.”

they kept on saying stop resisting arrest while i wasn’t resisting arrest. when i realized they wanted more than to arrest me, is when i tightened up. i really didn’t know what to do anymore. i thought somebody was going to die - either my mother on the couch or me getting pummeled by 8 huge 300lbs gorillas who were very much enjoying the festivities. i could feel them enjoying it. i could hear what they were saying. and yes, i do speak & feel in english.

i repeatedly asked them to stop. i told them i wasn’t resisting. “please don’t hurt me.” i begged them to stop, but they all wanted to get a punch or a kick in.

finally, when it ended, they hand-cuffed me and took me out to the police car waiting outside.

What a terrific way to follow up Canada Day, with a reminder that thuggery is as alive here as anywhere else. What's worse, the assault happened, of all times, on Pride Weekend.

The full letter is at this link. Go read it. Get angry. Send an email. Try not to feel hopeless. In that order.