Fourth video submitted of police violence in Quebec City, chief admits; all involve same squad
Quebec City's police chief confirmed Thursday that a single officer appeared in all three videos published this week showing violent altercations with police.
There's also a fourth video, Chief Denis Turcotte said in a press conference Thursday.
The existence of the fourth video was first reported by Le Journal earlier Thursday. It reportedly shows officers from the same squad involved in the first three videos, the GRIPP squad, which is tasked with patrolling restaurants and bars.
Some of the video is surveillance from inside a bar in the St-Roch district, showing officers taking issue with people dancing onstage, against COVID-19 rules.
A 36-year-old man, there to celebrate a birthday with his spouse, was shoved, and a second video shot outside shows officers carrying him and shoving his head against a wall, where the skin split and bled, according to the interview the man and his spouse gave Le Journal.
The couple requested the surveillance video from the bar in October, when the event occurred, and turned it over to Quebec City police Thursday morning.
"All the documents are in our possession," said Turcotte.
The force is asking the public to turn over any more video evidence from the events.
In its internal investigations, it hasn't yet spoken to any witnesses or officers, Turcotte said, but he said that if criminal wrongdoing were suspected, the case would be turned over to the Crown prosecutor's office for evaluation.
If not, the internal investigation could end in internal sanctions.
There are also independent investigations happening into the first two videos by the Police Ethics Commissioner.
Five officers have already been suspended, with pay, including three who appeared in multiple videos, including the one who appeared in all three (Turcotte didn't say if he also appears in the fourth).
"We will get to the bottom of this," said Turcotte.
'FORCE IS EMPLOYED FAIRLY REGULARLY'
The first video was the one showing 18-year-old Pacifique Niyokwizera last Friday night or early Saturday.
The second showed an incident earlier Friday night, when officers punched and kneeled on 29-year-old Jean-Philippe St-Laurent inside an Italian restaurant, breaking his nose.
The third, which came to light on Wednesday, shows an incident in October, said Turcotte. He said there were assaults committed and about 15 people who ended up outside an establishment, and 20 officers arrived "to disperse the crowd." Several people were arrested and some were fined, he said.
The fourth was the one that ended with the 36-year-old man's head bleeding.
Turcotte said that "people do resist their arrest often" and that "force is employed fairly regularly when people resist."
Still, he said, the videos are "worrying," and the investigation will show if the officers' actions are "reprehensible."
Generally, force may be used only until a person is controlled, he said.
Police will take any complaints by the public into consideration, even if there are no videos, Turcotte. added.
In explaining the unit involved, GRIPP, he said officers apply to join that squad and are evaluated for it. They become "specialized" over time, through training.
In both videos that came from the inside of bars or restaurants this week, the establishments' owners told media that they hadn't called the squad, but that the officers appeared without notice to check vaccine passports or ensure other health rules were being followed.
LISTEN ON CJAD 800 RADIO: What is wrong with Quebec City's police force? Alexane Drolet, Reporter at Noovo Info
--With files from CTV's Matt Grillo.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
Quebec nurse had to clean up after husband's death in Montreal hospital
On a night she should have been mourning, a nurse from Quebec's Laurentians region says she was forced to clean up her husband after he died at a hospital in Montreal.
'Anything to win': Trudeau says as Poilievre defends meeting protesters
Prime Minister Justin Trudeau is accusing Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre of welcoming 'the support of conspiracy theorists and extremists,' after the Conservative leader was photographed meeting with protesters, which his office has defended.
'My stomach dropped': Winnipeg man speaks out after being criminally harassed following single online date
A Winnipeg man said a single date gone wrong led to years of criminal harassment, false arrests, stress and depression.
What is changing about Canada's capital gains tax and how does it impact me?
The federal government's proposed change to capital gains taxation is expected to increase taxes on investments and mainly affect wealthy Canadians and businesses. Here's what you need to know about the move.
Bank of Canada officials split on when to start cutting interest rates
Members of the Bank of Canada's governing council were split on how long the central bank should wait before it starts cutting interest rates when they met earlier this month.
Pilot reported fire onboard plane carrying fuel, attempted to return to Fairbanks just before crash
One of the two pilots aboard an airplane carrying fuel reported there was a fire on the airplane shortly before it crashed and burned outside Fairbanks, killing both people on board, a federal aviation official said Wednesday.
Police tangle with students in Texas and California as wave of campus protest against Gaza war grows
Police tangled with student demonstrators in Texas and California while new encampments sprouted Wednesday at Harvard and other colleges as school leaders sought ways to defuse a growing wave of pro-Palestinian protests.
'One of the single most terrifying things ever': Ontario couple among passengers on sinking tour boat in Dominican Republic
A Toronto couple are speaking out about their 'extremely dangerous' experience on board a sinking tour boat in the Dominican Republic last week.
7 surveillance videos linked to extortions of South Asian home builders in Edmonton released
The Edmonton Police Service has released a number of surveillance videos related to a series of extortion cases in the city now dubbed 'Project Gaslight.'