Several pro-Palestinian activists were arrested after allegedly attacking Toronto Police with a flag pole and horse manure at a Saturday demonstration, with law enforcement announcing Tuesday they were seeking another man for assaulting an officer.
At a Land Day demonstration organized by several NGOs, protesters were alleged by the Toronto Police Service on Sunday to have been “physically aggressive towards officers” when they attempted to arrest a driver and seize his vehicle while it was in motion, because demonstrators were in the bed of the truck.
Assia Rami, 24, was charged with assault of a police officer with a weapon for allegedly throwing horse manure at police. Celeste Xiaoying Furlotte-Bois, 27, faces the same charge for allegedly using a flagpole to “spear” an officer.
Police said Tuesday that they were requesting the public’s assistance with identifying another man who assaulted an officer then fled the scene.
Four men were arrested
Four men were arrested for breach of the peace, but three were later released unconditionally. The fourth protester was wanted on an unrelated warrant and transferred to Ontario Provincial Police
The Pro-Palestinian organizations alleged that the police had used unnecessary force against protesters. Palestinian Youth Movement Toronto and Toronto 4 Palestine held a press conference on Monday and said that four protesters had to go to the hospital and others had concussion symptoms.
“Some of the tactics employed by the police included rushing attendees, choking them, shoving them to the ground, and riding horses into the crowd leading to the hospitalization of many,” PYM Toronto and Irish 4 Palestine said Sunday.
PYM and Jews Say No To Genocide said on social media on Monday that law enforcement came to the demonstration with riot gear, mounted officers and barricades “in an attempt to suppress and silence freedom of expression.” They claimed the police had “violently raided peoples’ homes at dawn.”
Toronto Police responded to the accusations of brutality on Monday, saying that officers “employed appropriate and necessary force to preserve public and officer safety while maintaining order during protest activity, particularly when faced with violence and aggression.”