Montreal police say they had to bring in the riot squad to disperse protesters during the annual International Day Against Police Brutality march Tuesday evening.
Véronique Comtois, a Montreal police (SPVM) spokesperson, said a 32-year-old man was arrested for mischief during the protest. There were a total of eight acts of mischief, she said, as well as one case of arson and one report of an alleged assault on a police officer.
Approximately 200 protesters marched through the streets near the intersection of Atwater Avenue and Notre-Dame Street West during the protest, organized by the Collectif Opposé à la Brutalité Policière (COBP).
The group describes itself on its website as "an autonomous group that brings together people who are victims, witnesses and/or concerned by police brutality and any abuse perpetrated by the police."
"The COBP aims not only to denounce harassment, violence, intimidation, arrests and abuse of police powers and to inform people of their rights vis-à-vis the police, but also to support the victims by helping them, for example, to lodge a complaint. in ethics and to face abusive accusations," the website reads.
Manuel Couture, another SPVM spokesperson, said some of the protesters hurled rocks at police officers and at commercial buildings, shattering windows of an SQDC cannabis dispensary, a Dollarama store, and a bank.
Members of the protest also set off fireworks and set at least one trash can on fire, he said.
