G20 officers facing disciplinary action over name badges

Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair announced on Wednesday that some 90 Toronto police officers are facing disciplinary action for removing their name badges during the G20 summit. Blair, speaking in Ottawa before a House of Commons committee, said he received 13 complaints from the public about missing badges. “I have a rule with the Toronto Police Service—it’s my rule—it’s in accordance with the policy of my police services board that our officers will wear their names displayed on their uniforms,” Blair told the committee. “If they have made a choice to engage in misconduct by disobeying a rule of the service they will be held accountable." Blair added that "technical" reasons were behind the fact charges against those who were arrested at a University of Toronto gymnasium during the summit were dropped. “It was because the police did not have the proper warrant for the apprehension of those individuals,” Blair said. "But that does not negate the fact that they had evidence to make the arrest."

Toronto Star