Olympic torch bearer knocked to the ground by protester, charges laid

HANOVER, Ont. – A woman carrying the Olympic torch was knocked down by a protester Monday morning during the Olympic Torch Run in Guelph, Ont.

Brittney Simpson, 19, from Kitchener, Ont., was arrested and has been charged with assault, according to Guelph Police Service. She is scheduled appear in court in February.

Simpson allegedly knocked the torch bearer to the ground at about 7:50 a.m. Monday morning.

A crowd of demonstrators appeared and disrupted the relay but the torch remained lit, police said. The torch bearer got back up and continued that leg of the relay.

The 28-year-old female torch bearer – identified as Cortney Hansen from Milton, Ont. – was treated at the scene for her injuries by Olympic Torch Run medical staff.

Vancouver Olympic Organizing Committee said the disruption was an "isolated incident" and was responded to "rapidly and appropriately" by the Vancouver 2010 Integrated Security Unit and the RCMP. The two groups are responsible for the safety and security of the torchbearer and the escort team.

"It is unfortunate that this torchbearer’s once-in-a-lifetime experience with the Olympic Flame was disrupted in this manner," said torch relay director Jim Richards.

"We understand that the Olympic Games are a high profile event and will attract attention and that people have the right to express their opinions," he said. "We ask that they do so peacefully and respectfully."

The incident occurred in front of about 1000 children and parents who attended the festivities, police said in a release.

There have been peaceful protests during the torch relay.

The relay route was altered Dec. 21 as the torch made its way through the Six Nations community in Grand River, Ont. The move was a response to anticipated conflict with protesters.

One of the protesters gathered outside a news conference that day said she was protesting the Olympics as a call to fair treatment of aboriginal people in Canada.

The torch was briefly delayed in Toronto Dec. 17 when hundreds of protesters filled the streets shouting, "No Olympics on stolen native land!"

Several groups in Victoria caused disturbances early in the torch’s national relay. Though the protest Oct. 30 began as a peacefully, it grew to a parade of around 200 people who effectively blocked the route and cut 10 torchbearers out of the relay. One protester that said there is concern about the amount of money being spent on the games when budgets for health and education are being stretched.

The 45,000-kilometre torch relay began Oct. 30 in Victoria. The torch will make an appearance in 1,000 communities before next Feb. 12, when it reaches its final destination of the 2010 Olympic Games in Vancouver.