My husband, John Sifton, and I attended the demonstration. We have attended many demonstration in the past. This was the first time we experienced fear at a demonstration. The fear was generated by the deportment and the actions of the police.

Leaving the rally point at LeBreton Flats in an entirely peaceful and good-natured crowd, we proceed up to Laurier and then along it. At the intersection with Bay, we were forced to pass between police who were spread across the street, spaced at perhaps three feet apart. They were holding clubs and shields. At the side of the street were other police, restraining several barking and agitated dogs.

We continued in orderly demonstration form until about 15 minutes later we reached a cross-street (I believe it was Lyon and Laurier. We passed the intersection with about a third of the column of demonstrators. We were about 25 feet beyond the intersection when we heard cries, shouts and dogs barking behind us.

Word came from near the intersection that police had broken the column of the demonstration and were arresting some demonstrators.

There was nothing that had occured which would seem to have justified the police intrusion into the demonstration.

There was confusion and distress among the demonstrators, and my husband and I began to feel apprehensive about how the demonstrators might react to what appeared to us a totally unjustified police action.

At that point there were hundreds of demonstrators in the immediate vicinity of the police action. We had no idea how many police were on the scene, or what they intended. My personal instinct was to start a sit-in, and I spoke to people around me about that.

I was afraid the police might rush the hundreds of people in the relatively narrow street space. I was very afraid that demonstrators, angry with the police action, and feeling enclosed in the street space, might rush the police.I felt I was in a situation which could quickly break into a riot.

The crowd was angry, but determined to be calm. Once the police had apparently satisfied their apparent urgent need to break into a peaceful march and arrest some apparent miscreants, the demonstrators turned forward and resumed their march.

But for the determination of those assembled, this incident could have had extremely bad consequences. The question that remains in my mind is "Did the police wish to create a riot?"

The other question that remains is "Who were these police, and who authourized their actions?" In full combat gear they were unidentifiable.

The statements of Chief Bevan have been neither helpful nor satisfactory. The police who serve us must be accountable to us. Policing cannot become a one-way street.