MARK STEYN: “Having stood by watching as a mob trashed downtown businesses (and their own cruisers), the peculiarly insecure dweebs of the Toronto police are now threatening law-abiding passers-by (that would be Cop#3478) and beating up Guardian reporters.”

After acting cowardly around those who might hit back, they have to reestablish their dominance somehow.

Related: Why do we have police forces? “I’ve spent very little time in Toronto over the years. Last time I was there, it reminded me of an American city of the 1970s–dirty, with a menacing street population and a whiff of violence in the air. That was only an impression, but it may be that inept police work didn’t start with the G-20.”