Montreal police officer Marc-Antoine Goyette has been suspended for two days following a high-profile rough arrest caught on video in 2012.
The incident took place in St. Laurent on October 3, 2012
Mark Wiles-Simpson, then 19, was sitting with his cousin Ceon on a bench in a park before his shift at a McDonald's restaurant.
Police were on the search for two people who had robbed a bottle from a liquor store at 954 Decarie Blvd. They spotted one suspect who they had encountered before and arrested him in the park.
But armed with a description of a "tall, black man" police approached the bench and questioned Ceon.
Wiles-Simpson attempted to walk away when his cousin was dismissed but police detained him by force while onlookers cried foul. Someone in the crowd asked the officer why he was arresting Wiles-Simpson and Goyette replied that it was because he was a thief.
"This is what happens when you do something wrong," said Goyette at the time.
Despite protests from his friends, and Wiles-Simpson's attempts to explain they had the wrong guy, he was handcuffed and put in a police car, suffering a sprained ankle, a sprained neck and bruised ribs in the incident.
Once police realized Wiles-Simpson had nothing to do with the liquor store theft he was released -- but was then charged with resisting arrest.
During the trial Goyette attempted to justify his actions by saying he had an accurate description of a suspect -- but later admitted that was not true.
Wiles-Simpson was acquitted on June 16, 2014, and then Goyette had to face the police ethics commission.
Goyette pleaded guilty and received a two-day suspension for describing Wiles-Simpson as a thief during the arrest and for offering incomplete testimony at the commission.
Fo Niemi of the Centre for Research on Race Relations said it is typical of Montreal police to double-down when caught in a mistake.
"To use all this force, then jump on him and basically it's clear this youth who was 19 at the time, going 'I didn't do anything, I'm going to work, what's going on?' and afterward discovering they have the wrong man and they still charged him with a criminal offence, without a single apology," said Niemi.
Wiles-Simpson is forgiving now the incident is in the past and his name has been cleared.
"I wasn't told why I was being detained," he said. "I was being rushed. It was confusing. I'm just glad everything is gone and done. I'm happy. It's a really good day for me."
He said he is still shaken by the arrest and would have liked an apology, but is willing to forgive.
"I feel like I'm treated fairly. In the beginning I wasn't, but I'm happy with the results.
