Thursday, November 5, 2015

toronto reference library--security harasseur

the following recording was made a few minutes after the incident shown in the video link at the bottom of post.

Here's a link to "security-library.aiff" in my Dropbox:

https://www.dropbox.com/s/1td56h71chu3pt6/security-library.aiff?dl=0

http://youtu.be/nhAHa2DtLns

summary of the events in the video and recording.

I was sitting in the front room of the reference library at yonge and asquith using the public wifi. a guy came in and laid down near me, soon two of the libraries security guards came and told him he couldn't rest there, and said to me that the library management had complained about me sitting there and I also had to move.

the guy who came and laid down to nap may of been part of this situation. what i am saying by that is the security sent him to do that as part of a diffuse and disrupt incident.

the guards removed themselves from the scene and I went to the desk to ask about the incident. the guard on duty first agreed with the other guards story then made excuses about it being a misunderstanding, that it was the other person sleeping they had been called about, as though he knew it was not a genuine complaint of the library staff the security was asked to act on. then he asked I include on my complaint that he wasn't part of the group of guards horsing around.

the guard who did most or all of the talking to me in the front room now was standing on one of the higher floors of the library atrium making as though he was using his phone to record what was happening at the security desk. I've read about these harasseur groups filming their activities and sharing the images on the Internet-of-harassment but didn't think they would do it in such an obvious or blatant way.