Police officer filmed running through stop sign at Montreal intersection where girl was killed

Quebec provincial police are looking into a video posted on social media showing one of their officers running through a stop sign in a marked vehicle at an intersection in Montreal where a young girl was killed in a hit-and-run.

In the video posted on Twitter by a mother living in the Sainte-Marie neighbourhood, the officer drives the police vehicle right past a Montreal police cruiser parked on de Rouen Street and then makes a left on Parthenais Street.

"Not marking your stop sign is so common in our neighbourhood in Montreal, but this morning it's @sureteduquebec doing it in front of @SPVM," the woman who posted it commented in the tweet.

"Leading by example would probably be a good thing to do?" 

The intersection is in a school zone where there have been protests calling for more pedestrian safety measures after a seven-year-old girl was fatally hit by a car while walking to school on Dec. 13, 2022.

Mariia Legenkovska, who died only a few months after arriving in Montreal with her family after fleeing the Russian invasion in Ukraine, was struck while walking to school with her brother and sister. The alleged driver fled who fled the scene was later arrested and is facing charges. 

'IT'S UNACCEPTABLE'

Marjorie Boucher, a new mother who was pushing her stroller in the area Thursday, said she was upset after seeing the video.

"It's unacceptable because there's a school just right here, there's a CLSC with mothers, mothers to be, and mothers with kids," she said, adding that she has to be extra cautious when crossing the street. 

"It's pretty dangerous and you have to watch your step every time if you want to cross the street because they won't see you. They won't stop."

The video of the police car didn't surprise resident Philippe Bouchard.

"We have to change our behaviour, slow down, make your stop, make sure the neighbourhood realize that you care about them," he said.

The Sûreté du Québec (SQ) said in an email to CTV News on Thursday that it is aware of the video and they are trying to identify the officer involved. Once that is done, "the appropriate measures will be taken based on the analysis of the situation," said SQ spokesperson Nancy Fournier.

When asked whether the officer involved could receive a traffic ticket, the SQ said they will decide that after completing their investigation. 

Since the fatal collision last December, the city has introduced some traffic calming measures in the area. Some of the changes include new speed bumps and transforming Parthenais Street into a one-way street northbound between de Rouen and Sherbrooke streets. De Rouen Street was also turned into a one-way street eastbound between Fullum and D'Iberville streets.

A new sign also prohibits left turns onto Parthenais Street from de Rouen Street between 3 p.m. and 7 p.m. but it doesn't seem to be deterring all motorists. A local resident recently filmed 44 vehicles turning left illegally in just a span of about one hour. 

With files from CTV News Montreal's Angela Mackenzie