By Phred Dvorak
(Updates with third police car set on fire, other details.)
TORONTO (MarketWatch) -- Demonstrators, some carrying red flags, in downtown Toronto Saturday afternoon and set fire to two police cars at the center of Toronto's financial district as the Group of 20 summit got underway.
Protesters briefly advanced south on Bay St., below King St., before being turned back by a police line. The protesters smashed windows in the Commerce Court building and at First Canadian Place at King and Bay before fleeing east toward Yonge St.
The subway system was shut down south of Bloor St., and many streetcars running on east-west streets stopped operating.
Later Saturday, a third police car was set on fire away from the financial district. The exact location of this incident couldn't immediately be determined.
Police were steadily pushing onlookers and protesters away from the intersection of King and Bay, chanting "move" and rhythmically hitting their batons on their shields. Progress was gradual, and there was no violence.
Some protesters chanted in the streets while a young woman with a megaphone stood by the police line urging bystanders not to be violent.
The crowd contained many onlookers who were merely curious. Charles Woods was taking his 88-year-old mother, Mary Woods, to a concert at the Air Canada Centre when he saw the protest and came by to see what was happening. "I'm from a small town: this is exciting," said Mary Woods. Charles Woods said he was pushed slightly by police but generally everything has been peaceful.
Numerous store windows on Queen St. west of University Ave. were smashed, including those at three Starbucks /quotes/comstock/15*!sbux/quotes/nls/sbux (SBUX 25.01, -1.38, -5.23%) outlets and a bank. The windows of a CBC television van were also smashed.
A flare was set off at the corner of Spadina Ave. and Queen St., and two police cars had their windows smashed near that intersection.
As of 6:30 p.m. EDT, there were several smaller groups of protesters at various points throughout downtown Toronto. Although some witnesses said tear gas was used near the intersection of College St. and University Ave., Nathalie Deschenes, spokeswoman for the Integrated Security Unit, said police have not deployed tear gas at any time Saturday. "No gas, no pepper spray, nothing of that sort," she said.
Deschenes said there have been 33 arrests since 6 a.m. EDT Saturday, but she had no information about the number or nature of charges.
Acrid black smoke from the burning police cars floated down King Street. Police on bikes and in cars blocked the street, and hotels locked their doors to all who couldn't prove they were guests.
"Every time you turn a corner, you are forced into a wall of cops," said Gregory Smith, 28, who had been caught in the riot.
Police on horses also began to move in as the streets were cleared. One police man clutched a small head wound as he entered the plush King Edward Hotel asking for ice.
(Alistair MacDonald and Monica Gutschi contributed to this article.)
