The main complainant in a disciplinary hearing for a former police officer completed his testimony Thursday.
Julian Menezes was arrested by Montreal police officer Stefanie Trudeau, aka Agent 728, in May 2012.
Menezes and some friends were returning home from a wedding when they saw Trudeau give a ticket to a cyclist, adding that when she handed it to him, she made a remark about the red square the cyclist was wearing.
Menezes testified that he and his friends asked about the ticket and that Trudeau told them to back off. When he then said that he was supporting the cyclist, Trudeau handcuffed him and placed him in a squad car.
Menezes said he initially refused to identify himself because when he asked Trudeau and her partner for their names and ID numbers, they refused, with Trudeau then driving aggressively around the city to toss Menezes around the back seat and into the Plexiglas barrier.
He was handed a $146 ticket for disobeying a police officer, a fine that was later dropped.
Menezes said that, contrary to what Trudeau said, he was not drunk.
He said his reason for questioning Trudeau that night was to prevent someone from being abused.
"It's important because it's the only way that something else can come out of this. These practices which looked to me very systematic, systematic violence, aggression, racism, that there's an avenue for them to be addressed," said Menezes.
A friend of Menezes also testified on Thursday, saying that throughout the event she was quite scared, but that Menezes was very calm and never raised his voice.
The cyclist who was arrested, Christian Morissette, also testified at the ethics hearing. He said that in his opinion, Trudeau was very aggressive and was looking for a reason to hand out tickets and arrest people.
Morisette testified that he was stopped at a red light when he saw the officer and also saw a driver run a red light, so he notified officers of the driver. He said police told him to ‘mind his own business’ and ‘let them do their jobs.’
Morissette said Trudeau was in his face, and he felt as though she wanted him to get mad, so he simply told her, “Give me the ticket please.”
He said the group including Menezes approached him to see what happened. Morrisette said he told them he was getting a ticket, but said he also told them to leave because he felt the officers were looking for trouble.
Earlier this year the Quebec Human Rights Commission ruled in favour of Menezes, awarding him $40,000 for the arrest.
Trudeau's lawyer will present its defence Friday calling on two witnesses to testify. It's not clear if Trudeau herself Is one of them.
Trudeau is no longer a police officer. She quit the Montreal police department after being found guilty of assaulting someone during a violent arrest in October 2012 that was caught on video.
