A new video has surfaced showing a possible case of police brutality in Montreal.
The alleged incident was captured on cellphone and was recently released by the man who claims to be the victim.
It began with an arrest outside Blvd 44, a nightclub on St-Laurent St. near Sherbrooke St., last September.
The altercation quickly escalated when one of the officers pulled out his baton to force two onlookers to step back. The onlookers resisted. Police pushed back a man and woman and it turned violent.
As police backup quickly arrived, the man identified as 29-year-old Jason Andrade continued to argue with police.
The officer holding the baton and a second officer continued to push everyone back.
The woman filming was also ordered to step back. The scene remained chaotic until the female onlooker was arrested and handcuffed.
“Those people were just asking questions. He didn't answer those questions, he overreacted right away by taking out his baton,” said defence lawyer Patrick Davis, who is representing one of the people involved.
The context wasn't easy for police: It was 3 a.m., people were fighting all around them outside the nightclub, and they had their hands full.
But according to Davis, that was no excuse for the police action, even if Andrade has several criminal convictions.
“Even if people have priors, it doesn't matter. They deserve the same rights, the same conduct as police officers against them,” he said.
Andrade was charged later that night with obstruction of police, but when the defence showed the video to the prosecutor, the charges were immediately dropped.
Montreal police did not respond to CTV’s request for an interview.
Andrade has instructed his lawyer to file a police ethics commission complaint and he's now considering a civil suit against the SPVM.
