An Ile Bizard man is spending a second night in jail rather than agree to stay away from a flood zone near his mother's house.
Alain Furlano was arrested Tuesday while attempting to deliver sandbags to a neighbourhood in Roxboro.
Police repeatedly told Furlano to stop, saying that where he wanted to place sandbags could divert water to wash out a railway crossing.
Montreal police officer Marie-Claude Dandenault said the head of civil security in the area called police for help when Furlano showed up with the sandbags in the morning.
"If he were to go through with it, it would compromise the area, and that would put the AMT trains, the passenger trains at risk," said Dandenault.
She said that Furlano was told repeatedly during the day that he would be arrested if he didn't stop.
"On three different occasions the police told him that we would be forced to proceed with his arrest if he did not stop with what he was doing," said Dandenault.
Furlano left in the morning but returned in the afternoon, at which point police arrested him.
They brought Furlano to the closest station and told him he could be released if he signed a promise to appear in court but Furlano refused, and so the real estate agent spent the night in custody.
He appeared in court Wednesday via videoconference to be charged with wilfully obstructing with a police officer.
During the brief hearing Furlano refused legal representation and demanded that the court documents be filed in French, even though he had spoken English with authorities.
The Crown had no objection to Furlano being released as long as he agreed to abide by certain conditions, including keeping the peace and having good behaviour.
The objection came when the Crown said Furlano could not return to the flood zone in Roxboro-Pierrefonds and would have to stay away from Montreal police officers, firefighters, and members of the Armed Forces working in the flood zone.
Furlano refused to agree to that, saying "I want to be freed now. I want to help people."
Furlano appeared confused and agitated, saying he was arrested "for helping neighbours. I am a human being."
He will appear in court Thursday for a bail hearing.
Residents unhappy with arrest
"The poor guy. The last thing he needs right now is to be arrested," said Jeff Arsenault.
Arsenault and other residents said they wanted to fix a short wall near a bicycle path but that nobody in authority wanted to do so.
"There's a crack, 30 feet long," said Martin Boisvert. "We're talking the length of that truck, to build a wall, six feet high, and yet no one will do it."
To show his displeasure, Boisvert has attached a sign reading "Free Alain" to the rowboat he is using to get around the neighbourhood.
"He brought sand bags and we were going to do it. A little citizen pro-action, and he was arrested," said Boisvert.
Furlano's mother lives in the neighbourhood north of Gouin Blvd. near Sources Blvd., and Arsenault said Furlano was trying to save her house.
"He was trying to fix the crack in that wall, and then once we fix the crack in that wall, that small, small dike, we can start sucking this stuff out here, and start reclaiming it," said Arsenault, pointing out the street covered in water.
Instead, he believes the government is trying to force residents to leave, let their houses be damaged, and then accept a payout after the fact for repairs.
