* Same officer also had my purse with phone number for legal representation in it. She promised I'd get it back in detention.
* This made me feel really nervous. I begged her to tear off piece of paper with lawyer's number on it but no dice.
* Everyone's stuff was put in clear plastic bags with our ID. The officers all had stickers but no one knew where to put them. On bags? Dunno.
* Talked to people around me. Couple were walking home, got caught. Student w/ Chinese accent, insuff. ID, also there by chance.
* Woman of couple was corporate lawyer. “Guess that does me no good here,” she joked to her police escort. She was really, really sweet.
* Later had a different guy behind me, also really sweet, totally docile, joking too w/ cops, meanwhile we were all shivering like crazy.
* My officer asked me to explain what had happened. She seemed to have literally no idea why we were penned there, how it happened.
* Cops attitude was “You shoulda gotten out before this happened.” “But I had no warning!” was the reply. And I believe it.
* After more standing in the rain, we were shown our way to TTC buses with “CHARTERED” on the front!
* We got on. Beside me was Chinese student. In front of me were two women who were ACTUAL protesters.
* First I had met.
* They were sisters. Very thin and dressed in t-shirts and I watched the goosebumps rise on one sister's arms for 20 minutes.
* “They don't even know what they're protesting,” said a cop. “Yes I do,” said one. “What?” “This,” she said.
* Then my cop tells the 2 cops beside her that I work for the Globe. “I was tweeting for the Globe here today,” I say.
* “Oh yeah, we read those live tweets,” says my officer. “They're helpful to us!”
* I'm thinking about the banality and discomfort of the next few hours when a guy gets on the bus and starts yelling. I am inured 2 this now.
* He yells we will all be given unconditional release but if we show up in the area in the next 24 hours our goose is cooked.
* (Not his exact words.) He gives us the spiel in legalese, then “DO YOU UNDERSTAND!” We all say, “Yes,” like drones.
* It takes a strangely long time to get let off the bus or maybe it just feels that way. I'm still shivering and guy cop says “Relax.”
* “Relax, you're leaving! Be happy!” “I'm cold,” I say. “I'm just as cold as you and I have to work 10 more hours” he says.
* “Dude, I'm not busting your chops,” I say. “This is not a contest about who is colder.”
* “I'm colder than both of you,” my cop says (another funny!). “You win,” I say.
* “I'm colder than both of you,” my cop says (another funny!). “You win,” I say.
* And then they cut off my cuffs and I find my bike unscathed (!) and I ride to The Globe and when the Globe security asks me for ID...
* I'm happy to give it to him. I start telling him I was arrested. A week ago his spot-checks seemed irksome.
* Now it's like “Oh, hey, you're not the police? Oh, hey, whatever, bro.”
* There's more to be told, about the whole getting trapped at Spadina and Yonge business, but maybe later.
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