Nine people were arrested at a protest in Quebec City Friday evening, as demonstrators decried an incident in which a police patrol car ran over and killed cyclist Guy Blouin, 48, Wednesday.
The protesters congregated in front of the St. Roch Church and then made their way to Victoria Park before ultimately moving on to Charest Blvd. where they blocked traffic, enduring hard-pouring rain for much of the two hour demonstration.
Those arrested were ticketed under a city bylaw and released.
Many involved in the protest believe that police recklessness led to the cyclist’s death.
Jean Fortin, who said that he witnessed the incident, told CTV's Vanessa Lee Friday that the two police officers clearly saw Blouin before backing up and running into him.
The police were apparently planning to warn or ticket the rider for riding the wrong way down the street.
Fortin, who organized the vigil, said that after the cruiser hit Blouin, two officers came out and held him down on the sidewalk even after he was clearly injured in the collision.
"One officer put his knee on the man's back and the other kept him down and ordered him to stay down. It took four or five minutes before an ambulance came."
Fortin man said that the same officers left with the man's bicycle and then returned with it later. Ambulance attendants then transported the man without putting a neck brace on him, he said.
"I was totally incredulous,I couldn’t believe it," he said. "The officers might be very nice people but they made a mistake Wednesday at 1:15, several mistakes."
Another cyclist said that it's accepted local custom for bicycles to ride the wrong way on small streets such as the one on which the accident took because it's generally safe, as they usually have little traffic.
"If you live in the area you notice it's almost all one-way streets. All cyclists go the opposite direction sometimes, if you don't you'll have to take a very long route. But if you are on a bike or foot you give yourself permission, you’re not in a car," he said.
The SQ provincial police was brought in to investigate the incident.
Quebec City Mayor Regis Labeaume said that he trusts the SQ and believes they will provide clear answers.
