Protesters of last month's G-20 summit aired a slew of complaints and concerns last night at an emotional public hearing before the Citizen Police Review Board, the first of at least two planned to explore the city's handling of the demonstrations.

Dozens of people stood before a microphone to share their experiences with the board, and their claims ran the gamut. Some spoke of the sting of OC gas and rubber bullets, while others said they felt their rights were violated.

Still others were more fervent, making profanity-laced statements to board members, who offered no opinion during the two-hour hearing at the Stephen Foster Community Center in Lawrenceville.

The testimony is just some of what the review board will consider as it analyzes encounters between police and civilians during the summit.

It will be a challenging task for board members, who will wade through individual concerns while trying to learn more about police policies and procedures for the event.

Executive Director Elizabeth C. Pittinger said the board has already received more than 60 formal complaints, and people were filling out more last night. The board's probe will include a similar gathering at a later date in Oakland, and then a formal public hearing, at which law enforcement officials will offer their testimony for the record, Ms. Pittinger said.

"We may never get a clear picture, but when you see enough smoke, there is fire," said board chairwoman Marsha Hinton, who pledged that the review board's investigation would be objective.

The finished product will be a report "worthy of global attention," from cities that will hold similar events, Ms. Pittinger said.

No one from the city's police bureau spoke at last night's hearing, though city and police officials have repeatedly said law enforcement acted appropriately and used restraint throughout the summit. A few people last night spoke on behalf of police, such as Maureen Crowley of Lawrenceville, who said she asked a masked protester to leave her property during a march in Lawrenceville.

"Yes, the police used restraint, and I applaud them," she said. "I wouldn't have used that restraint."

But most of the more than 50 people at the hearing disagreed, saying police used excessive force and infringed on rights of free speech and assembly. They demanded accountability and pointed to problems they saw during an unpermitted Sept. 24 march in Lawrenceville and several rallies that followed in Oakland.

"I want to find out the truth of what happened," said Peter Shell of the Thomas Merton Center. "Who gave the orders and who followed them?"

Police have said they used a "hammer-and-anvil" tactic to arrest demonstrators after a Sept. 25 rally at Schenley Plaza, but community activist Paradise Gray, who was in Oakland at the time, described it differently.

"To me, it looked like they were trying to kill ants with a sledgehammer," he said. "The students at Pitt had no idea what was coming to them. ... They were rounded up, just like cowboys round up horses."

Lawrenceville business owner Catherine Berard said her daughter was not protesting but was exiting a bar when she was hit in the arm with a tear gas canister and wounded. Eileen Yackman, who was working as a legal observer for the ACLU during the G-20, said she is representing a woman who was headed out on a date that night but was arrested because she "was not running away fast enough" in her high heels.

Chris Nelms, 29, of Bloomfield, who was charged with aggravated assault and other crimes during the protests, said police were punishing dissent.

His preliminary hearing is scheduled for today.

"I think everyone just wants to move on," he said.

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