The woman who was captured on camera uttering racial slurs and spitting at a stranger in Toronto's Nathan Phillips Square on Monday is reportedly now being assessed at a local mental health facility.
Talya Davidson, 28, appeared in a Toronto courtroom on Tuesday to face what police had earlier explained as one charge of assault and three charges of assaulting a peace officer.
Details of the alleged assaults outside Toronto City Hall were brought before a judge, according to reporters who attended the hearing, but are covered by a court-imposed publication ban.
The Star reports that Davidson was brought into the courtroom on Tuesday by three security officers with her hands shackled. She was reportedly escorted from the room by five officers following the hearing and remanded into custody.
A woman was just caught on camera screaming racial slurs outside #Toronto City Hall - 📹 u/farhanrana https://t.co/g0g1ZBVqsK pic.twitter.com/p4m6CfYeqy
— blogTO (@blogTO) August 12, 2019
Davidson "was seen having a dishevelled appearance and wasn't wearing any shoes when she was transferred to the holding cells," according to Global News.
A man who claimed to be the woman's father told the Toronto-based news outlet at the hearing that she has "mental health issues," while a police officer said that she could be facing additional assault charges for spitting at a court officer.
As of Tuesday evening, Davidson was in custody "pending further evaluation at the Centre for Addiction and Mental Health," according to Global.
Mental health issues in Toronto are severe and deserve our attention and understanding. @antihateca @camhEdu @TorontoPolice #MentalHealthAwareness @ARCCollective https://t.co/DEh9IB8Pu3 pic.twitter.com/ZaCpwjDOE7
— BernieFarber (@BernieFarber) August 14, 2019
Meanwhile, as news of her court appearance spreads, Twitter users are chiding each other for suggesting on Monday and Tuesday that the woman's actions were part of an elaborate hoax.
"Mental Illness is not a hoax... Lessons to be learned on Twitter," wrote one user. "Two women have been falsely accused/harassed in the name of politics."
"Not a Liberal hoax: the woman who carried a Tory sign and spat on a Brown man has been remanded to a psych hospital," wrote another. "The hoax allegation was a serious charge."
Davidson is scheduled to return to court on Sept. 12.
by Lauren O'Neil via blogTO
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