Author: David Menzies
Publication: Torontosun.com
Date: August 2, 2011
URL: http://www.torontosun.com/2011/08/02/yonge-dundas-smackdown
Punched in the face, but fat chance charges
will be laid
What constitutes a physical assault in Toronto
these days?
This would appear to be straightforward. If,
for example, one individual punches another, surely that's assault. Especially
if the punch in question was witnessed. And photographed.
But as I learned firsthand on Sunday, a fist
in the face doesn't necessarily constitute assault in our increasingly culturally
sensitive Toronto.
The details: I was at Yonge-Dundas Square
with my nine-year-old son. We ate pizza. We drank bubble tea. And I used my
new Canon camera to take photos of this neon shrine.
Suddenly, a woman wearing a hijab ran toward
me. She was part of a group that included two women wearing full face-covering
burkas. She was screaming: "We are Muslim! You do not take pictures of
us!" (Odd. I can't find the "no photos" rule in the Qur'an.)
I informed the lady I was in a public square
in a democracy. I can actually take pictures of whomever I please.
And then: Ka-pow! Her fist collided with my
face. Worse, she almost knocked my new camera from my hands.
My son and I were then surrounded by a mob
of about 20 people, many of whom were speaking Arabic. One kept demanding
I surrender my camera to him.
It was surreal. Was I in Toronto - or Riyadh?
I spotted a group of bicycle-mounted police
officers. I burst through the mob with my son and made a beeline towards them.
I told a Toronto Police officer what had happened and I wanted to press assault
charges.
Better yet, a man and a woman came forward
as eyewitnesses.
The 50-something couple, originally from Syria,
told the police they had observed the entire affair and my allegations were
true. The couple said they understood Arabic and knew what the mob was saying.
Spidey Senses
Alas, my Spidey Senses started to tingle when
I overheard the questions being asked of the witnesses. "Was it a closed-fist
punch or an open hand? Was it the front or the back of the hand?"
Huh? Physical contact had been made. Why did
severity matter?
After the officer took my statement, he went
over to the offending woman. Another constable was inexplicably miffed I was
(legally) taking photos in the first place. The irony: Just above our heads
a Toronto Police Service sphere was videotaping the activities.
The officer interrogated the woman. She was
still hysterical. Good. The constable would encounter firsthand what I had
been forced to deal with earlier.
The cop walked back to me. No charges would
be laid, he said, because he believed the woman's story - namely, she was
merely trying to knock the camera out of my hands.
Got that? Apparently, attempted property damage
is OK. If a face gets in the way of a would-be vandalizing fist... hey, accidents
happen.
The Syrian eyewitnesses were speechless. I
continued to plead my case.
Toronto Police cruisers are emblazoned with
the slogan, "To serve and protect". But increasingly, the unofficial
slogan seems closer to, "F.I.D.O." ("Forget It; Drive On.")
The fact we have Islamists living amongst
us who despise western values isn't news. But surely you can't just sock someone
in the mouth.
Well, apparently you can - as long as the
intent of the aggressor was merely to inflict property damage.
World's upside-down. Just thought you should
know.
-Menzies is a freelance writer in Toronto