You Should Have Stayed at Home

You Should Have Stayed at Home is a 2011 documentary about the police reaction to the Toronto G20 Protests produced by the CBC Television's investigative journalism show The Fifth Estate.

This documentary depicts several issues regarding the police response to the protest and treatment of the protesters, focusing notably on:

1. The brutal Queens Park dispersion: As a result of rioting taking place several blocks away on Saturday, the Police forces violently dispersed all the peaceful protesters amassed in Queens park, which was the rally point for protested groups during the Summit.
2. The Novotel arrests: Peaceful protesters were cornered by police on the Evening of Saturday June 26, and summarily arrested even though videos show there was no evidence of wrongdoing.
3. The University of Toronto raid: Several students who bussed to Toronto from Quebec and who were staying in a Gymnasium of the University of Toronto were arrested in the early hours of Sunday June 27 by a full tactical police squad. The police, relying on prior investigative information, believed that some of these students were responsible of some of the rioting the previous day, or would cause rioting in the day to come. All the students present were arrested and brought to the temporary detention center, but all were released as the raid proved illegal, having been conducted without a proper warrant.
4. Conditions in the temporary detention center: A temporary detention center was set up in Toronto's East End, where the 1100 or so protesters who were arrested were brought and detained. The conditions of this detention center were draconian and even a police officer is alleged to have compared it to Auschwitz. Protesters complained of overcrowding, lack of access to water and food, lack of heating, lack of medical attention and degrading conditions. All protesters were submitted to strip searches.
5. Police brutality at the police "Kettle" at Queen and Spadina: Home videos show the tactics used by police to box-in, brutalize and arrest peaceful protesters.
6. Police Brutality outside the detention center: All through Sunday June 27, protesters gathered outside the temporary detention center to peacefully protest the arbitrary arrests of the previous day. They were eventually brutally dispersed by the police, using tear gas and rubber bullets.

Showcasing videos from several of the protesters and bystanders, along with interviews of some of the demonstrators and Police Chief Bill Blair, this documentary makes a good case against the unwarranted police brutality during the G20 summit. The documentary raises questions about the place civil protest, which in the past has led to racial and sexual equality amongst others, now holds in our society; the pressure to abandon such endeavors and that, overall, demonstrators "should stay at home". Thankfully, with the proliferation of personal video cameras, from minicams to cell phones, there is a good video record showing the actual circumstances of the police response to the protests. Though there is no doubt that there was indeed rioting going on Saturday June 26, which was to be expected as in the margin of any otherwise peaceful protest during such events, the brutality of the police response in Toronto is indicative of a would-be police state practicing and testing the boundaries of increased repression under the justification of a few rioters, who on occasion have proved to be, as in past demonstrations, covert members of law enforcement known as Agent Provocateur.

This documentary also makes the case that, eight months after the events, the various investigations into the reported complaints of police brutality are still ongoing, despite the readily available video evidence. Police Chief Blair attempts throughout this interview to reinforce the impression that all the facts are not in and it is, despite all the videographic evidence, too early to judge on these events, but that if wrongdoing was indeed the case on the part of the police, then it will be duly prosecuted. It raises the issue that, as much as the rioters were masked, the police committing these brutal acts are in most cases unrecognizable, as they wear helmets, are all identically dressed and wear no badges or any identification marks or codes of any kind; Though this level of anonymity is to be expected from lawbreaking rioters, on the part of the police force it is in fact a blank check for some officers to exercise excessive brutality without any chances of reprimand.

External links

• You Should Have Stayed at Home Official CBC page
• Credits From the CBC Website