Toronto Media Co-op

Local Independent News

More independent news:
Do you want free independent news delivered weekly? sign up now
Can you support independent journalists with $5? donate today!

Guardian journalist assaulted, arrested

by Sarah Colgrove

Rosenfeld shows his media credentials to police right before he is arrested and beaten. Photo: Activestills
Rosenfeld shows his media credentials to police right before he is arrested and beaten. Photo: Activestills
A journalist covering the G20 for British newspaper The Guardian was brutally assaulted and arrested when police executed a mass arrest on a peaceful protest near Yonge and Front last night.
 
It was around 11:40 pm when police escorted Jesse Rosenfeld to a police van at the base of the Novotel hotel, sporting a black eye visible from 40 feet.
 
Shortly after his own release from the area, TVO's Steve Paikin reported seeing a journalist who identified himself as working for The Guardian held by two cops while a third punched him in the stomach because he "talked too much", then drove his elbow into the collapsed journalist's back.
 
Rosenfeld had been commissioned by The Guardian, but was told by the G20 media accreditation team that his press credentials were "pending" throughout the week. When arrested, he was wearing his Alternative Media Centre press pass, but only those who could prove official G20 press accreditation were allowed to leave - with a warning, however, that their credentials would not get them released a second time.
 
The remaining 100-200 people in the area were arrested. At least three additional Alternative Media Centre journalists were arrested throughout the day.
 

Socialize:
Want more grassroots coverage?
Join the Media Co-op today.

Creative Commons license icon Creative Commons license icon

About the poster

Trusted by 24 other users.
Has posted 33 times.
View dru's profile »

Recent Posts:

picture of dru

dru (Dru Oja Jay)
Montreal
Member since January 2008

About:

Writer, organizer, Media Co-op co-founder. Co-author of Paved with Good Intentions and Offsetting Resistance.

195 words

Comments

Divide and Conquer: Pre-calculated

Why was a legitimate journalist like Jesse, for an important paper, like the Guardian, brutalized so that he was taken out of the coverage? Was he deliberately targeted by police in advance? Was this a pre-emptive arrest and brutalization?

Where is the discussion of the legitimate concerns of the protesters? When do we discuss what is happening behind closed doors at these Summits- such as  Canada-European Union: Comprehensive Economic and Trade Agreement (CETA) - negotiations that will outsource our municipal services? Why is all the media focused on violence and not on issues themselves?

Divide and conquer- silence the journalists, focus on the violence of a few, and ignore the long term policy which will do far more damage to the fabric of civil society than the senseless violence and heavyhitting hand of the police.

I do not believe this was a random beating- it was calculated, and I think this assualt may go to court for violation of civil rights.

 

Some facts: Jesse did not

Some facts:

Jesse did not have a G20 media badge. Therefore, he should have been there and definetly should have known there would be trouble.

-And-

A few Other people claiming to be from the Guardian spoke with toronto media, and within 10 seconds they were contradicting each other on accounts of police brutality. The toronto media cut them off entirely and refused to speak with them further.

typical everyday brutality from the state enforcers

Yeah CBC reports 'More later on the protester violence'. I guess they mean the broken Starbucks window or the burnt bacon mobiles. No mention of any police violence - despite the fact that police direct their violence against people, not property. 100s of people injured and/or arrested - not news. A few banks and coffee shops damaged - now there's a headline!

Jesse

Jesse is affiliated with the Daily Nuissance, a rag that covers the left wing and other terror nuts. Get a grip, he's a nobody.

the author Colgrove is Rosenfeld's friend

Colgrove was among a group of students who used to help Rosenfeld with pieces he wrote at McGill University. And Ms. Colgrove is well aware that Rosenfeld does not work for the Guardian. Rosenfeld has written two pieces for Comment is Free, on the Guardian Online. It is an online section for commentary by various people not employed by the Guardian. These include ordinary folks who have become a witness at the edge of a news event.

The site for the Toronto local of The Media Co-op has been archived and will no longer be updated. Please visit the main Media Co-op website to learn more about the organization.