A group of seven Hamilton women are suing police officers for unfair arrest during the 2010 G20 summit in Toronto, the Canadian Press reports. The women, who are submitting a claim for $1.4 million, said they were not involved in the widespread protests but where unfairly profiled due to their hairy legs.
A group of seven Hamilton women are suing police officers for unfair arrest during the 2010 G20 summit in Toronto, the Canadian Press reports. The women, who are submitting a claim for $1.4 million, said they were not involved in the widespread protests but where unfairly profiled due to their hairy legs.
The women, who were leaving a downtown restaurant during the riots of June 27th, 2010 say they were handcuffed, arrested, and held for over 24 hours in a detention centre before being released without charge. In a statement, their lawyer says that the Ontario Independent Police Review Director found a note written by an officer regarding the arrest which said “all parties appear to be protesters; back packs; clothing and females all have hairy legs.” One woman also claims she was sexually assaulted during the pat down.
Dozens of police officers are facing charges resulting from the summit weekend, including allegations of excessive use of force and illegal arrest. More than 1,100 people were arrested during the summit, and most were released without charge.