Ban 'sound cannons' at G20: civil liberties group

24 June 2010 |

Author: Professor |

CBC News 23 June, 2010

The Canadian Civil Liberties Association is asking a judge to grant an injunction to stop police from using so-called sound cannons against G20 protesters.

On Wednesday, lawyers for the association presented their arguments in Ontario Superior Court in Toronto.

Toronto police have purchased four of the cannons, which can emit piercing noises similar to a smoke detector. Police have said they will only use the sonic cannons as a loudspeaker to communicate with the crowd.

That promise isn't good enough, says David Cavalluzzo, a lawyer for the association.

"They said the same thing in Pittsburgh at the last G20 summit where the police officers in a riotous situation did not use the protocols established for their use," Cavalluzzo argued.

Guidelines for the use of the sound cannons are unclear, and police in Toronto have not been properly trained, he told the judge.

"The training was absolutely absurd in this instance," Cavalluzzo said. "We had a two-hour training course, [and] we had a test that was given where every participant on the test got 100 per cent."

Torontonians should not be 'guinea pigs': rights group

Cavalluzzo said the devices have the potential to permanently damage hearing; he accused police of relying on safety studies done by the manufacturers of the devices rather than independent research.

Cavalluzzo said Toronto residents should not be used as "guinea pigs" to see whether the sound cannons are safe.

Nathalie Des Rosiers, who is also with the association, argued the sound cannons pose a legitimate safety concern.

"We are worried that if they are displayed in an urban setting, they are going to cause permanent hearing loss," she said.

"They are dangerous weapons, and they should have been approved appropriately. They should have been tested appropriately."

The association says the RCMP doesn't use the high-pitched device to control crowds, and local police shouldn't either.

No louder than a weed whacker: police lawyer

However, a lawyer for the Toronto police argued that the sound cannons are needed to communicate with a crowd so noisy it may drown out the sound of a traditional megaphone.

Darrel Smith compared the maximum decibel level to that of an ambulance siren, leaf blower or similar devices.

"They present no greater danger of hearing loss than a weed whacker," said Smith.

Smith said police would move at least 75 metres away from a crowd before changing the settings to full blast.

He said that when the cannons are used to project a voice, sound levels reach the mid-90 decibel range. That is about the same level as the sound of a subway train or lawnmower.

Judge David Brown is expected to give his decision on Friday morning.
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