City
Babylon Bashing
The tower of Babylon was supposed to be built by a united humanity, however, language barriers prevented them from communicating. The tower was never finished.
"On Saturday June 25th of 2005 my family and I were brutally assaulted and humiliated by a handful of city public and peace officers," is how Amir Ebrahimnia begins his account, in letter quickly circulating the Toronto internet community. Amir is the owner of Babylon Martini & Musique Boutique, located in the heart of Pride festivities.
Each year, Pride Toronto attracts millions of people to downtown Toronto. After the daytime festivities, the thousands pack into the dozens of establishments along Church St. This presents a problem for the police of the city, to make certain that there are no violations of the liquor licence agreement at any of these bars, overcrowding being of most concern.
"That's when people get hurt. We had to enforce the liquor licence," states Constable Wendy Drummomd. "The Toronto Police Services had set up a deliberate check of the licences in the gay district, and during their stop at The Babylon, there was an altercation."
According to Amir, there was more than an altercation. He states that he was brutally beaten by a number of 51 Division officers during their enforcement of his liquor licence.
"I was pummelled to the ground. I was continuously punched in the face, kicked in the ribs, and twisted. I thought at first that they wanted to arrest me, so i loosened my arm for them to handcuff," Amir continues.
"They kept on saying stop resisting arrest while i wasn't resisting arrest. When i realized they wanted more than to arrest me, is when i tightened up. I really didn't know what to do anymore. i thought somebody was going to die."
"He would probably have injuries if he were resisting arrest," Constable Drummond states, clearly siding with the officers, "He can say what he wants. But yes an altercation did take place."
I spoke with Amir's mother on the phone briefly. Her shock was obvious. "I never thought these things happened in this country, it's like the Taliban." During the altercation, Momma - as she's known in the neighborhood, was taken to the hospital for breathing trouble.
Amir was then taken into holding, and charged for resisting arrest and assault with a weapon.
The Babylon will now close it's doors to the public after being open for over a decade.
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This man didn't deserve to be beaten but I am not the least bit sorry to see that bar go.
<p>If you look in to this a little further, you'll find almost every single link on the internet about this story ultimately links back to the original article, posted here: <a href="http://www.anyagalkina.com/blog/index.php?p=62";>Police Assault on Pride Weekend</a>. It looks like <a href="http://www.warrenellis.com/index.php?p=953";>Warren Ellis</a> linked to the story first, and the news spread from there. That isn't to say this is all a fabrication, but it is quite suspect. You would think a scandal like this would have been looked in to by at least one of the cities 3 major papers. The assault occurred almost a week and a half ago, and it has been circulating on the internet since July 1st. If true, this is the sort of story that needs much more attention than it is currently getting.</p>
When I called the bar, I spoke with the mother (mentioned in the letter) and she corroberated the story.
I also spoke to the news editor at Now and was told that they have someone covering the story.
But I have no idea why it hasn't been covered by any of the other papers.
On one hand, discrimination is a reality.
But on the other hand, everyone is a victim and some people really DO give cops attitude.. like that supermodel that got tasered a couple months ago!
FYI: the bar was over crowded. the inspectors and police did there job. but they didn't want to leave. as a matter of fact, they came back in to kick us out of our own establishment.
my mother was on the couch while i was on the phone with 911.
i saw the officers enter the bar again.
they kicked my father in the ass as they laughed and kicked him right out the door. they moved towards my mother on the couch to force her out.
while i was on the phone with 911, i saw them go for my mother and i freaked out on them. i threw a martini shaker at the wall to my right and yelled at the officers to leave us alone.
thats when they attacked. i dropped the phone screaming for help. i don't know if they hung up the phone or the assault has been captured on 911 recordings. we intend to find out.
i had 3 staff members NOT INCLUDING my parents witness everything. they moved in to help me and were forced out of the building as everyone else.
my staff witnessed them attacking me. i was beaten for 10 to 15 minutes.
one officer had me by the hair as he continously smashed my head on the tiled ground as others punched and continously kicked me in the head, ribs, groin, shoulders and legs.
i was NOT resisting arrest.
again. this is MY side. and we look foward to the police recollection.
regarding rudeness. i am truly sorry if anyone was ever rude to you or anyone in my establishment. everyone has a bad day. unfortunately, in the service industry, every one always expects a smile and we really do try to smile and serve to the best of our ability, but we all have bad days sometimes and everyone seems to expect servers never to have a bad day.
i am really sorry you had a bad experience.
to alot of peole however, babylon was an institution. we were never a gay or a straight bar. we were the bridge that unified. that is what babylon was to me.
i started babylon when i was 21 years old. i'm 33 now. thats a lifetime.
a lifetime of taking pride in what i do. 11 years of award winning achievement. 11 years of nothing but fond memories.
the gay community accepted us as one of there own. we have learned so much from you. i may not be gay, but i am certainly queer and proud of it.
but this is exactly what this is about to me; they took away our lives, our pride, our self worth, and humilliated us knowing well they would get away with it.
No, I said I DO NOT AGREE WITH THE MAN BEING BEATEN. Learn to read.
I said when I have been there I have found it expensive and rude. Nothing having to do with the incident.
Stop putting words in peoples mouths.
p.s. if you don't mind the shitty atmosphere, The Lab - behind futures on bloor, serves 2oz martinis on wednesday for 3.50 . Of course that's after paying 4.00 cover.
Xtra, the Sun and the Star also all have reporters on this. I think there is an article in the current Xtra, on my way to grab one now. Nothing anywhere else. And they DO know about it.
Don't get me started on Global Television. They had an interview with Amir, footage of the damage to his bar AND Bill Blair commenting on Amir's allegations while he was marching in the parade! They had everything they needed within twelve hours of the alleged beating and they DID NOT RUN THE STORY.
Instead, we all watched our TV's that evening while Blair extended his olive branch to the gay community. The real plan? The police are actively recruiting in the gay community. The first session to attract gay officers was held at police headquarters today!
If you would like to hear an interview with Amir, along with details of what the cops have to say about the assault, get ready to download this:
http://www.radio4all.net/proginfo.php?id=13159
Please distribute widely.
I was also treated poorly/rudely at Babylon several times (enough that I vowed never to return), but that doesn't justify their being attacked!
Amir, I left a message on the Babylon asnwering machine. Basically, a friend of mine has talked to a human rights lawyer who is interested in taking on your case. Please email me if you would like me to get you in touch with him.
First off, as for the police being "unfair" to Babylon, the owners were no strangers to breaking the law, as they regularly served minors, served after 2 am, allowed overcrowding on ANY busy night, and immoral if not illegal, they did not allow their bartenders to keep their tips! I am acquianted with Amir, and one of my best friends worked there for months, and I went to visit her several times, and saw these things happening every night I was there. She would be told to serve Amir's underage friends, and given a hard time because she had asked them for ID!
As well, Amir states that due to the police actions, they can't afford to reopen the bar. This is ridiculous, as the Ebrahimnia family is EXTREMELY wealthy. Even if the police acted as Amir says they did, having their alcohol dumped out and their bar damaged would certainly be affordable for the Ebrahimnias. As well, over a year ago I personally heard Amir say that he planned to close the bar "soon" due to poor sales.
If it did happen as he said, then of course, it's terrible and undeserved, but please remember, there was NO press on this, and we are going on a letter from the victim himself as the only source of information. It is the ONLY source that Now magazine used for its article.
I am not defending the Toronto Police by ANY means, but have we ever heard of them beating up the owner of a bar for being an immigrant? Or for overcrowding? This also cannot be considered a "gay bashing" - Babylon does not promote itself as a "gay bar" and neither Amir nor his parents are gay. Keep an open mind on this, people. Maybe if someone was actually at Babylon on the night in question, they could post their version of events.
The idea that a half dozen cops mercilessly beat up a defenseless man for no good reason is laughable.
It is a shame this was re-printed at all.
The discussion is just as important as the piece itself, if not more. Thanks for all your comments.
To be honest, I dont think we are hearing the whole story. And if the bar owner is fabricating or exaggerating, then he should not be given his licence. If the story is true, then count me in for the fight.
But why oh why, did you overcrowd your bar, when you know the police were out in full force, especially if you got busted the previous pride. Buddy, i know the rules suck, but you gotta follow them.
Based on the story in the link below, it seems this individual has a knack for getting excited:
http://www.healthwatcher.net/Newspapers/ts970325front2.html
It would be a shame if someone used there race to discredit people just doing their job...
Thanks Grant
It is really disgusting when people come to Canada and complain that their home country is a better place. Why do they stay here then?
i wish 'respect for others' were part of everyone's value system, but even those we should look to as community role-models (cops) get it wrong sometimes, power can corrupt. i've seen things like this happen in miami and (to my cousin in) copenhagen and am sad to hear it happened here in toronto. please do not let it sour your taste for this country. canada is a beautiful country, with many freedoms. unfortunately racism exists in many corners. let's do our best to fight it. tell people it's not okay. it's taken 10 years to get an inquest into ipperwash, but it happened.
to those who discredit amir's story, have some sensitivity. what does he have to gain from this painful experience, and sharing it with us. his story is part of a reality in cities everywhere.
my heart goes out to you and your family amir.
What solution does this man want? He is just pointing the finger and bitching about how poor this country treats him.
Everyone should also know that EVERY DOLLAR IN TIPS YOU EVER LEFT AT BABYLON WAS KEPT BY AMIR AND HIS FAMILY. Yes, it's true. My friend worked there for a year on the third floor (so she was bartender, and waitress), and she got NO TIPS. They paid her $7/hour so it was not illegal, but wow it was immoral. She would have to put all her tips in the till and give them to Mr. and Mrs. Ebrahimnia.
So don't think that they were "such great people" who would "never concoct such a story". They may have made a great martini, but that's not much of a character trait.