Police watchdog to investigate Quebec City officer linked to two violent arrests
Quebec City police (SPVQ) said Monday there are reasonable grounds to believe a police officer has committed a crime in two incidents following a series of videos in recent days showing violent altercations with the public.
The two incidents were referred to Quebec’s public safety ministry. Citing the “exceptional nature of the events” and an agreement with the province, the SPVQ agreed to also refer the cases to the police watchdog, the Bureau des enquêtes indépendantes (BEI).
The BEI says the two incidents that it will now analyze took place on Nov. 20 in the city's Grande-Allée and Chevrotière sector and on Oct. 17 inside a "licensed establishment" on St-Joseph Street. Investigators' jobs will be to determine the circumstances of the two incidents and help Quebec's public prosecution office, the DPCP, determine if charges should be laid.
Public Safety Minister Geneviève Guilbault said Monday that her department mandated that the BEI get involved.
She also confirmed that the two incidents being investigated for possible criminality are the third and fourth video that surfaced last week.
In the third video, posted to Instagram, an officer is allegedly seen dispersing a crowd outside a bar appearing to hold a tear gas device. The officer can be heard saying to a man, “Do you want me to tear gas you?” while swearing at him just before he forcefully shoves him back into a police cruiser.
The fourth video was taken from surveillance footage inside a bar where officers were enforcing the vaccine passport. In the video, published by Le Journal, an officer can allegedly be seen throwing a man into a hallway, causing him to hit a wall head first and split open the skin.
The man was reportedly there to celebrate a birthday, according to his spouse.
The BEI said witnesses of both events can contact them by emailing bei_allegations@bei.gouv.qc.ca.
"My responsibility is to ensure that a strong bond of trust is maintained between our citizens and our police officers. The Service de police de la Ville de Québec has conducted its internal investigation in a diligent manner, which has led it to make allegations to me regarding possible criminal offences," Guilbault was quoted as saying in a news release from the province on Monday. "I am therefore requesting that the Independent Investigation Bureau review these allegations as provided for in the Police Act. I salute the speed and thoroughness with which the SPVQ acted in this case."
She told reporters Monday that she also mandated that the Police Ethics Comissioner investigate the actions mof police officers seen in the first and second videos that came out last week, which are still being probed by an internal SPVQ investigation.
All four videos appear to show the same police squad, known as GRIPP, which is tasked with patrolling bars and restaurants and enforcing public health measures related to COVID-19.
Last Tuesday, the SPVQ announced that five officers had been suspended, with pay, following the publication of the first video of a violent takedown of two Black youth outside the Dagobert bar. Of those five officers, three were said to be involved in a second incident at the Portofino restaurant.
The second video, captured by someone inside the Italian restaurant, allegedly showed officers kneeling on and punching 29-year-old Jean-Philippe St-Laurent on the floor on top of broken glass. He suffered a broken nose and a concussion.
It was later revealed that the same officer was involved in at least three of the videos published last week.
At a press conference last Thursday, Police Chief Denis Turcotte didn't say if the same officer was also implicated in the fourth video under investigation, but said, "We will get to the bottom of this."
LISTEN ON CJAD 800 RADIO: What is wrong with Quebec City's police force? Alexane Drolet, Reporter at Noovo Info
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
BREAKING Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
WATCH LIVE As GC Strategies partner is admonished by MPs, RCMP confirms search warrant executed
The RCMP confirmed Wednesday it had executed a search warrant at an address registered to GC Strategies. This development comes as MPs are enacting an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power, summoning one of its contractors to appear before the House of Commons to be admonished publicly for failing to answer questions related to the ArriveCan app.
Disappointment widespread over budget's proposed $200-month disability benefit funding
Advocacy groups across Canada are expressing widespread disappointment about the amount of funding earmarked in the 2024 federal budget for the long-awaited Canada Disability Benefit.
Earthquake jolts southern Japan
An earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.4 hit southern Japan late on Wednesday, said the Japan Meteorological Agency, without issuing a tsunami warning.
opinion Don Martin: Gusher of Liberal spending won't put out the fire in this dumpster
A Hail Mary rehash of the greatest hits from the Trudeau government’s three-week travelling pony-show, the 2024 federal budget takes aim at reversing the party’s popularity plunge in the under-40 set, writes political columnist Don Martin. But will it work before the next election?
Ancient skeletons unearthed in France reveal Mafia-style killings
More than 5,500 years ago, two women were tied up and probably buried alive in a ritual sacrifice, using a form of torture associated today with the Italian Mafia, according to an analysis of skeletons discovered at an archeological site in southwest France.
Paul McCartney and John Lennon’s sons have released a single together
A new Lennon and McCartney collaboration is the last thing anybody expected.