Police oversight body was in the dark before violence-marred G20 summit: report

TORONTO – A new report concludes the civilian agency responsible for oversight of Toronto police found itself largely in the dark when it came to policing at the G20 summit.

The review by retired justice John Morden finds the police services board didn’t ask enough questions of the police chief, wrongly believing it couldn’t seek information on operational matters.

Some members of the board blamed Chief Bill Blair for being secretive but the report faults the board for failing to get the information it should have had.

Morden says the board had far too little time — just four months — to prepare for the June 2010 summit, which was marred by vandalism and the arrest of more than 1,100 people.

In effect, the report, which makes 38 recommendations, found the board became “a mere bystander in a process it was supposed to lead.”

The report was to be released Friday, but was made public early after it was inadvertently posted to the police services board website.