Toronto G20 - Man run down by police horse

A man is run down by a police horse at the G20 protests in Toronto on June 26, 2010.

I was not there as part of the protests. I was just there to take photos and video. But what I saw at Queen's Park that day left me very unsettled.

Queen's Park was the officially designated protest zone, i.e. the place where the government directed people to go and protest. I did not see any violence from the protesters, nor from the police. The police were standing calmly, forming a wall blocking protesters from moving south on University Ave. However, at about 7:00pm, for some reason the police decided to push the protesters out of the park.

The wall of officers, assisted by mounted police, moved forward, pushing the protesters back (eventually all the way to Bloor Street). A few people who did not move back fast enough were struck and/or arrested. After several arrests, a few members of the crowd became violent, and I saw a couple of rocks being thrown. I have little sympathy for those who used violence and put a crowd of peaceful demonstrators, onlookers, and media at risk.

Unlike the few troublemakers, the vast majority of the crowd at Queen's Park was non-violent and complied with police orders to move back.

This video was captured at 7:28pm at Queen's Park South during the push. After the first group of mounted police passes, a man wanders onto the footpath, perhaps not realizing, with all the loud noise and confusion, that another group was coming in fast behind him. At the last second, the officer appeared to pull the reins to try to stop or maneuver around the man, but there was not enough time.

The mounted officers were from the Toronto and Montreal police forces. After being knocked down, the man was nearly stepped on. He was able to get up and walk away, so hopefully he was not badly hurt.

Anyone can feel free to use/remix this video for non-commercial purposes, but I would appreciate a credit. For other purposes, please contact me.

Category:

News & Politics

Tags:

• G20
• police
• police horse
• riot
• trample
• summit protests
• riot police
• Toronto
• 2010
• Queen's Park
• Торонто саммит

[neoregulus777]

@spook0013 Look both ways before you cross the street.

[1MuseFan1]

PWNED

[samthegreencat47]

teach that arsehole to try and obstruct police horses

[mickiloo97]

That was the man's fault. When around horses, you can't afford to not pay attention. His fault = no sympathy

On a related note

Haha

[Sethmyrrh]

@Pule3 Yah I lived on a farm as a kid. My Grandpa got kicked by a horse. It hardly nicked his arm but it was enough force to shatter his elbow. They're crazy powerful.

[Pule3]

@Sethmyrrh You got to be careful approaching a horse. If you startle them they will kick you in the chest and your fucked.

[rocker544]

fuckin pigs...

[TheMarkusQ]

Reminds me of when there was that tsunami and the guy was on the beach was turned the other way and never saw what hit him.

[petiteAlicious]

poor horses mixed up with stupid humans!!

[andreholloway1234]

LOL he got ran over by a horse. wonder if he thought the horse would stop xD

[itsibitsirider]

@Sethmyrrh Police horses go thru desensitizing, they are trained to literally be bombproof

[Sethmyrrh]

I dont get why nobody ever runs up and hits the horse in the ass with a stick or something to spook it and have it send the cop flying. Not enough to hurt the horse of course, just to freak it out.