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Sexual comments, threats and strip searches by male officers were among the allegations G20 detainees made against police Thursday.

Instead of making official complaints to police or the province’s Special Investigations Unit, the Toronto Community Mobilization Network (TCMN) announced there will be an “independent people’s investigation” that will hear testimony from complainants before deciding how to proceed.

Some women have expressed interest in a class-action lawsuit, TCMN member Farrah Miranda told reporters.

Among the video statements played at the morning press conference was one by anti-G20 activist Lacy MacAuley in Washington, D.C., who alleged that after she was detained, a Toronto Police officer “was using a variety of very, very gender-specific terms, very sexually charged terms.”

In another video, Amy Miller alleged police told her “they were going to make sure that I was never gonna want to act as a journalist again by making sure that I would be repeatedly raped while I was in jail.”

A written statement from another woman identified as Alison Peters said: “I was roughed up by the cops, had my hair pulled, and was thrown forcefully to the ground. I was called a bitch, and my breasts were grabbed by by-standing cops as they dragged me across the pavement.

“We were told to take our clothes off if we wanted to be taken seriously,” Peters said. “They made a joke about having a sexual threesome with me and a female officer.”

Toronto Police said complaints must be filed through the appropriate avenues — be it Toronto Police or the SIU — in order to be investigated.

“There isn’t a lot of faith in police, but we have faith in each other and we have faith in our communities coming together to share these stories, to collect this information and to decide what we’re going to do with it,” Miranda said.

In a press conference last month, chief Bill Blair said detainees at the Eastern Ave. detention centre were videotaped “every moment of their detention, save and except during their search, if they were searched.”

In one corner — Furious George Smitherman, the one pit bull that never got banned at Queen’s Park, and in the other — Angry Rob Ford, city council’s barking bulldog of taxpayer revolt.

A man under court order not to have a weapon allegedly tried to pull out a pistol while fighting to escape the clutches of police.

The man ran away when he was confronted by officers on Joseph St., in the Weston Rd.-Lawrence Ave. area, around 8:10 p.m. Wednesday, police said Thursday.

He reportedly swung at an officer who nabbed him, and broke free several times.

During the struggle, the suspect allegedly tried to reach for his gun, police said.

Other officers arrived and helped in the arrest, Const. Tony Vella said.

A loaded Glock 9mm handgun was seized along with a magazine with ammunition and a quantity of marijuana, police said.

Sean Wright, 25, of Toronto, is facing assault to resist arrest, and weapons and drug charges.

Peel Regional Police Const. Samantha Nulle said officers assisted the airline with the complaint, meeting the two passengers at the gate when they were taken off the plane.

Investigators found no criminal offence had taken place, she said.

Nulle said she couldn’t confirm the two were watching 9/11 scenes.

“The two were cleared of all allegations and set out on the next flight,” she said.

The terror video scare wasn’t the only delay on the flight that night.

Passengers were told missing baggage was delaying the plane’s takeoff even before they were told there would be a further delay due to the “security problem.”

After the two passengers were taken off the plane, it was going to takeoff but was then aborted due to mechanical issues.

Passengers were finally switched to another plane and the flight continued to Orlando.

A CBC employee, one of three CBC staffers and several other journalists on the plane heading to Florida to cover the Black story, commented he’d “never been on a flight like this.”

Passenger Mike Berrouard, a Toronto businessman, told Warmington the whole ordeal was “scary.”

“That was definitely the strangest flight of my career,” he said.

Egypt approved on Wednesday a request by the aid ship to dock in its El-Arish port after it failed to reach Gaza port due to the Israeli monitoring.

The ship's engine broke down Wednesday morning 130 miles (about 209 km) from El-Arish port. It resumed sailing after repairs. Office 2007 is so powerful.

On May 31, Israeli naval commandos raided an aid flotilla bound for Gaza, killing nine activists. The incident sparked worldwide outcry and new concerns about the sufferings of the Gaza people.

Israel imposed a tight blockade on Gaza three years ago after the Hamas movement violently took over the territory, where some 1.5 million Palestinians live.

On June 1, Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak ordered to open indefinitely the Rafah crossing to allow people and aid goods in and out of Gaza, to ease the humanitarian crisis of the enclave. Thousands of Palestinians and large mounts of aid goods have crossed the terminal since then.

Related:

Gaza-bound Libyan aid ship enters Egyptian territorial waters

CAIRO, July 14 (Xinhua) -- The Gaza-bound Libyan aid ship Al-Amal entered on Wednesday Egypt's territorial waters, local TV said.

Murad Mowafi, the governor of North Sinai, said in televised statements that the ship is now less than 12 miles off the Egyptian northern coast and is expected to arrive in Egypt's Mediterranean port of el-Arish within few hours. Full story

Egypt approves docking of Libyan ship with Gaza aid in Arish port