The Toronto Police Services Board on Tuesday approved an independent civilian review of police conduct during the G20 Summit.
The board made the decision during a meeting that was attended by agitated activists.
Some of those in attendance said the public should have a say in who leads the review and in setting its terms of reference.
"We have said that we will hear from the public once we have put together the terms of reference," said board member Hamlin Grange.
"We have not said we will not hear from the public. I need to be very clear on that."
One person in the crowd said many on the board have very close ties to the police and expressed worries about whether the review will be fair.
The reviewer has not yet been named.
Alok Mukherjee, the board's chair, would not speak to reporters after the meeting ended.
In a news release, he said: "In the week since the G20 Summit, the Board has taken the time to meet, identify issues and concerns and develop a reasoned approach to review the oversight and policy aspects of policing at the G20 Summit.
"We believe that this Independent Civilian Review is the most appropriate way forward and is in keeping with the board's history of taking measured and reasoned approaches to key civilian oversight issues."
Policing during the June 26 and 27 summit of world leaders and their delegations involved not only the Toronto Police, but the RCMP, the OPP and officers brought in from police services across Canada.
There were a number of protest marches during the summit and its lead-up period.
Police made one arrest on June 25 and had some testy encounters with protesters in a march led by the Ontario Coalition Against Poverty.
The real trouble started on June 26. A massive, peaceful march organized by the labour movement was infiltrated by vandals using so-called "Black Bloc" tactics. They damaged storefronts and torched police cars in a rampage that police failed to stop.
Later that day, police charged demonstrators in the so-called safe zone at Queen's Park. One of those arrested was a CTV News producer.
On June 27, there were clashes outside the temporary detention centre on Eastern Avenue.
That day closed out with police performing a "kettling" manoeuvre on a crowd of a few hundred at Queen Street West and Spadina Avenue.
Police later explained that they observed possible Black Bloc types in the crowd. The crowd was kept penned in for hours in a heavy downpour.
The police detained 1,105 people over the summit period. They released 113 at the scene without charge, and arrested and released 714 within 24 hours.
Two-hundred-sixty-three people are still facing charges.
Many people have alleged the police used excessive force, violated civil liberties and kept people detained in inhumane conditions. Political leaders have defended police actions.
There have been several protests calling for a full public inquiry, but Premier Dalton McGuinty said Friday he won't be calling one.
Mike McCormack, president of the Toronto Police Association, welcomed the review.
"Given the complexity of a multi-jurisdictional event that happened … let them have a look at that," he said.
A spokesperson for Toronto's Police Chief Bill Blair said the chief doesn't think it's appropriate for him to comment on the board's decision.
Blair snubbed?
Meanwhile, at City Hall, Mayor David Miller handed out praise by name to virtually every civil servant who worked on the G20 summit -- except for Blair.
However, the mayor did say the police were in an "impossible situation."
Coun. Mark Grimes did try to correct the omission of Blair by moving a motion. "I want to commend the outstanding work of Chief Bill Blair, the Toronto Police Service and the Integrated Security Unit during the G20 Summit in Toronto."
Coun. Gord Perks noted that while many things went right during G20, "some things obviously went wrong."
He thought city council should hold off on any such motion until the review is complete as it could be seen as prejudicial.
Grimes' motion is currently on hold.
With reports from CTV Toronto's Austin Delaney and Alicia Markson
