Street medics working at "peaceful protests" that oppose globalization have come to expect police violence and the injuries that result, a Quebec Superior Court jury was told yesterday.
In testimony that veered into a tutorial on potentially lethal pepper spray for an intrigued jury and presiding judge, Scott Weinstein recounted some of his experiences at protests in Washington, D.C., Windsor, Ontario, and Montreal.
"I've learned to expect that there will be police violence. I have seen this repeatedly," said Weinstein, 45, a registered nurse who once worked in Washington hospitals and is now working at a Montreal CLSC.
He was one of a string of defence witnesses who yesterday provided an upclose and personal look at events outside the Sheraton Hotel on Ren? L?vesque Blvd. where G20 finance ministers were meeting Oct. 23, 2000.
A demonstration turned violent; activists Jaggi Singh, Christina Xydous and Jonathan Aspireault-Mass? were charged with participating in a riot.
Weinstein told the jury that he and other medics went to protests as "neutral" parties interested in preventing injuries where possible and, if needed and wanted, treating the injured.
As Weinstein was about to tell how he witnessed law enforcement officers pepper-spraying peaceful protesters - and a news photographer - in Windsor just months before the Montreal demonstration, crown prosecutor Kathleen Caron objected, questioning the pertinence of the testimony.
Judge Jean-Guy Boilard overruled her, noting that she had raised the fact that medics were on hand at the Montreal demonstration, preparing the ground for the possible interpretation that organizers were expecting violence. Or planning for it.
Weinstein told the jury that he knew of Singh in October 2000 but they weren't good friends. Much of his time was spent treating people injured by pepper spray or who said they'd "been clubbed" by police, the court heard.
In response to a question raised by a juror - and praised as good by the judge who later asked for further information - Weinstein detailed treatment for injuries - and the panic wrought - by pepper spray use.
In brief, the best case scenario involves the "chemical weapon" not hitting the eyes, mouth or nose, or being inhaled but just causing a burning sensation on exposed skin for about 45 minutes. At worst, it's inhaled, triggers respiratory arrest and leads to death, said Weinstein, adding that two Montrealers died in 2000 after police used the spray to subdue them.
The defence continues with its case today.
lmoore@thegazette.canwest.com
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