Ontario's Special Investigations Unit said Tuesday it will re-open a G20-related investigation after Toronto Police Chief Bill Blair claimed some video evidence had been tampered with.

YouTube video taken on June 26 purports to show Adam Nobody, 27, being arrested and then beaten by a group of riot police officers.

Nobody says he was taken to Toronto East General Hospital for treatment of a fracture below his right eye.

Blair issued a statement on Monday that a YouTube video had been forensically examined by police.

According to the SIU news release, Blair made the following claims in media interviews:

  • the tape had been tampered with
  • it had been fabricated
  • a significant portion had been removed
  • that it had been "doctored to create a certain impression"
  • that the "use of a weapon had been removed from that tape"

The video, available on YouTube, was posted with the title "'Toronto G20, Peaceful Protestor Tackled and Roughed Up."

John Bridge provided a sworn statement to the SIU on Tuesday saying he took the video in question and did not alter it in any way.

Bridge did say that an approximately five-second gap existed because he stopped filming when he thought he might have to retreat from advancing police.

In a statement released Tuesday , SIU director Ian Scott said: "In my view, the assertions by Chief Blair and the contents of the affidavit sworn by Mr. Bridge satisfy the criteria of being materially new information with respect to the Nobody incident.

"I will be asking Chief Blair to provide the SIU with any further relevant information he has with respect to this incident and more specifically any forensic evidence in his possession regarding the allegation of tampering with the video tape."

Scott said the SIU also wanted to formally interview Bridge.

In a statement released last week, Scott said there were two cases where there were reasonable grounds to believe excessive police force had been used in two cases -- Nobody's, and that of Brendan Latimer.

Latimer, 19, claimed to be struck in the face during arrest on June 26. He was taken to Toronto East General Hospital for treatment of a facial fracture.

In four other cases, the SIU concluded there were no reasonable grounds to lay criminal charges where demonstrators alleged excessive use of police force.

The SIU is an arm's-length provincial agency set up to investigate when people are injured or die as a result of contact with the police.

The complaints sprang from police crackdowns during the G20 Summit of world leaders in late June.

Protesters gathered in Toronto in the days before the summit. The biggest protest took place on June 26, a Saturday. A small group broke from a peaceful main crowd. Using so-called Black Bloc tactics, they went on a 90-minute vandalism rampage. Business storefronts were shattered and police cruisers burned.

In response, police carried out a widespread crackdown to restore order. The area around Queen's Park was to be a designated protest zone.

Police arrested more than 1,000 people. About 300 were actually charged with criminal offences, but a large proportion of those have been stayed.

Phillips said the SIU now considers these cases to be closed, but added that they could be re-opened if new information surfaced.

Several other inquiries into activities during the G20 remain active.