Montreal police officer stabbed while trying to detain man near daycare

A Montreal police (SPVM) officer was sent to hospital with serious injuries Wednesday after he was stabbed while attempting to detain a suspect.

The officer, who has served with the force for two years and regularly works in the city's Cote-des-Neiges neighbourhood, is expected to survive.

Montreal Police Chief Fady Dagher arrived at the scene and told reporters the incident happened during an intervention.

Dagher said the man had been "hanging around" a daycare and taking pictures. Police first approached the 27-year-old man on Tuesday, but he fled the scene. On Wednesday, police saw him again.

"Today, my police officers came back just to make sure that everything was secure. Finally, they met him, they tried to talk to him [but] he ran away. My police officers tried to talk to him by putting his hand on him. Then, [the man] stabbed him with a knife on the left side of his body," the police chief said.

The officer is undergoing surgery and is "not in danger," Dagher added. The officer's partner, a five-year veteran of the SPVM, finally arrested the suspect and was treated for shock.

Dagher said the suspect needed psychological care, "but it wasn't done in time, so our police officer suffered the consequences."

"This person had an order to meet a psychiatrist but didn't meet him yet, so we want to make sure that now he's in detention, now he's going to go meet the doctor," he added. 

The chief said he was "proud" of how his officers intervened but acknowledged that officers could benefit from more training from community partners when dealing with people in mental distress.

"We're not [psychologists], we're not social workers. We're trying the best we can. We are focused and we are trained to face criminality, but the mental health issues is a completely different ball game," he said.

Dagher said he visited the hospital, where he met with the injured officer. He also spoke to the man's partner, his mother, and his wife.

The chief said the injured officer is "good," adding that "he's tough."

Police said late Wednesday night that the suspect was expected to meet with investigators during the evening and is expected to appear in court Thursday.