Mark Fenton, G20 officer who ordered mass arrests, should be fired, complainants say

A senior police officer deserves to be fired for thewanton trampling of civil liberties during the tumultuous G20 summit in Torontosix years ago, his sentencing hearing heardWednesday.

Supt. David (Mark) Fenton has shown no real remorse and attemptedto blame everyone other than himself for the indiscriminate massarrests that stained the weekend gathering, lawyers for thecomplainants argued.

"Fenton was militant and uncompromising. He effected martiallaw," lawyer Adrienne Lei said."His conduct at the time was alarmist. He continues to bealarmist."

• Mark Fenton foundguilty of discreditable conduct in G20 arrests
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Lei, who speaks for scores of people detained for hours by policein full riot gear in pouring rain and plunging temperatures at adowntown intersection, said what the experienced officer has done is"dodge and duck" responsibility for his actions.

Another complainant lawyer, AdrienneTelford, said the incidentcommander was responsible for the wrongful detention of almost 600civilians who have been deeply affected by his actions.

"A single police officer suspended the Constitution and turnedthe downtown core into a police state,"Telfordtold the hearing."It was a blatant abuse of power."

Fentonwas convicted last year under the Police Services Act forhis actions at the tumultuous summit.

The tribunal foundFentonhad no grounds to order riot police tobox in and arrest hundreds of people many of them innocentbystanders.

The prosecution is calling for a year-long demotion forthe senior Toronto police officer.After the year,Fentonwould automatically berestored to his rank.

Prosecutor Brian Gover says the demotion would cost Fentonbetween $10,000 to $15,000 in lost pay.

Gover also says such a penalty would be a "meaningfulconsequence" for the officer's misconduct.

Fenton, who once described the G20 protesters as a "maraudinggroup of terrorists," apologized through his lawyer after hisfinding of guilt, Gover noted.

At the same time, the prosecutor said the defence's request for areprimand would not be sufficient given the seriousness of hisbehaviour.

Not a 'momentary lapse of judgement' prosecutor says

For one thing, Gover said, Fenton told the tribunal he had donethe "right thing" and "would do it again."

"This was not a momentary lapse of judgment," Gover toldretired judge John Hamilton.

The G20 weekend was marred by a spate of vandalism in which storewindows were smashed and two cruisers set alight.

About 1,100 people about 600 of them on Fenton's orders weredetained or arrested, many ending up in a widely condemned makeshiftdetention centre.

Gover said the challenging situation that weekend called for coolheads to prevail but Fenton, instead, acted like a "hot head" whowas "spoiling to use his authority."

"Hundreds of people were denied their constitutional rights as aresult of (his) actions," Gover said.

Fenton, a 27-year member of the Toronto police force, is the onlyupper command officer to face disciplinary proceedings for hissummit actions.

The tribunal heard he had an "exemplary" record and enjoysstrong support from his subordinates.