MONTREAL – The court case for Montreal police officer Stefanie Trudeau, known as Constable 728, has been postponed until September.
At a court appearance Tuesday, it was determined that additional evidence was needed to so that the file can be processed in court.
Trudeau is in court on charges of assault after an incident from October 2012.
She’s alleged to have used crude language and used unnecessary force, including putting a man in a chokehold, while carrying out an arrest over a complaint about drinking in public.
The incident was filmed and widely circulated on the Internet.
A cell phone conversation between Trudeau and another police officer was also recorded without her knowledge, during which she was allegedly heard calling the people she arrested “rats,” “damned red squares” in reference to those involved in the student movement and “s*** eaters.”
Serge Lavoie, the man who Trudeau allegedly assaulted in the 2012 incident, was at the courthouse Tuesday and decried the delays.
“It’s too long in a pragmatic world. For me it’s an aberration. It’s not normal,” he said. "I haven't lost faith in the process but I certainly have a critical point about how long it is to resolve the problem."
Trudeau was only charged in connection with the incident this March.
She is not obligated to appear in court until her trial begins. She was represented by her lawyer Tuesday.
The charge of assault carries a maximum penalty of five years imprisonment.
Police won’t confirm whether Trudeau is collecting pay but she is not working at this time.
Last year, the Crown decided not to charge Trudeau for allegedly pepper spraying demonstrators during the student protests of 2012.
That incident was also recorded and posted to YouTube.
She had been suspended by the Montreal police forced and was also ordered to undergo a psychiatric evaluation.
Lavoie and the others involved in the police intervention said they didn't come to court to seek revenge or get even with Trudeau.
They say they just want to see if the justice system works when it involves police officers.
"Life goes on. We want to be able to concentrate on our things, our lives -- but we're not letting this whole affair down. It's a question of balance," said Lavoie.
The passage of time has not erased the group's fear of police, especially after hearing the disparaging comments allegedly made by Trudeau, who characterized them as "guitar-playing red squares from the Plateau."
"Often when you see a police car pass by with a very harsh-looking personal on board, that's not the kind of police I want for our neighbourhoods," he said.
Trudeau is also awaiting trial on a separate charge of threatening Police Brotherhood union staff.
The officer's next court date is now on Sept. 26, but there is no guarantee she will appear as she is not obligated to be present in court until her trial.
-- with files from CTV Montreal
