MONTREAL -- An eyewitness to the incident that led to the arrest and subsequent release of Mamadi Camara has come forward, saying he warned police they had the wrong man.
Juan Angel Flores, a Canada Post maintenance worker, said he saw the scuffle between a man and a police officer on Jan. 28 that led to Camara's arrest. During that altercation, the man allegedly managed to get Officer Sanjay Vig's firearm and fired at him as Vig ran away.
Vig suffered a head injury during the incident and Camara was arrested later that day.
Flores said he did not see the gunfire but heard two shots and saw the suspect heading his way before they fled down an alley.
He said while this happened, he noticed Camara sitting in a parked car nearby. Flores said Camara never got out of his car during the incident.
During the ensuing investigation, Flores said he told police what he had seen and gave a sworn deposition, but Camara was arrested anyway.
On Wednesday, during a court appearance initially meant to be a bail hearing, he was released with all charges against him stayed as the Crown acknowledged receiving new evidence that cleared him of wrongdoing. DNA testing has also shown Camara was not the person who attacked Vig.
