In a courtroom packed with supporters, Desmond Cole appeared in Old City Hall on Thursday to fight a trespassing charge laid at Toronto police headquarters this summer, after the activist and freelance journalist refused to cede the microphone at a police board meeting. Cole was escorted out of headquarters by officers in July, after he disrupted the monthly meeting by demanding that he be allowed to speak about the high-profile case of Dafonte Miller, a Black teen alleged to have been severely beaten by an off-duty Toronto police officer and his brother. Cole says he is determined to fight the provincial charge, which comes with a $65 fine, though he calls it a “waste of everyone’s time and money.” His lawyer, Annamaria Enenajor, told the court in a brief hearing that she will challenge the charge on the basis that it violates Cole’s Charter rights, specifically his freedom of expression.A judicial pretrial has been scheduled for January. “We are not going anywhere until we get the accountability that we deserve for Dafonte,” Cole said outside court, prompting cheers from more than 100 supporters. Miller was 19 years old when he was alleged to have been severely beaten with a metal pipe by an off-duty Toronto police officer and his brother in Ajax on Dec. 28, 2016. He suffered serious eye damage, a broken orbital bone, a broken nose and a fractured wrist.Const. Michael Theriault and his brother Christian Theriault are charged with aggravated assault and assault with a weapon. They also each face one count of public mischief based on allegations they misled investigators.The case has prompted intense criticism about the handling of the incident by both Toronto and Durham regional police — chief among them each police service’s failure to notify Ontario’s police watchdog, the Special Investigations Unit (SIU), given the involvement of Michael Theriault, who was off-duty at the time.The watchdog only became awa ...
|
