MONTREAL -- The outrage over officer 728 spilled into the streets for over an hour on Friday night as 100 protesters marched to demand the firing of Stefanie Trudeau.
The officer was suspended on Thursday by Montreal police chief Marc Parent after evidence surfaced of an arrest by Trudeau that involved a choke-hold and a string of profanity.
The suspension is pending an internal disciplinary investigation into the allegations against her.
With the protest dwindling to a handful of demonstrators by 11:00 p.m., two stops were made in front of Montreal police headquarters on St-Urbain St.
“Everyone is wondering what happened; the director came out,” said Montreal police mediator Michael Arruda. “We believe in the system; the system is there to find out what happened. I'm just telling them, ‘Let’s see what happens in the course of time—give it some time and the truth will come out.’”
Along with Arruda, a number of mediators followed Friday night’s march.
No arrests were made.
Since the Oct. 2 incident, a number of people have come forward to allege that they too have been subjected to abuse by Trudeau.
McGill University lecturer Julian Menezes said he once witnessed Trudeau insulting a cyclist on Mont-Royal. When he went over to see what was happening, he was thrown into the back of a squad car.
“I said, ‘We're not interfering, we're just here as witnesses,’" he said. And at that point, she barged me into the ground and handcuffed me.”
Menezes says Trudeau and her partner drove at high speed, and repeatedly slammed the brakes to shake him up in the back seat. He was eventually let go with a $146 ticket for refusing to obey police.
Trudeau has also been cited by the police ethics commission on a few occasions.
Others have made similar allegations, though all remain unproven in court
Retired Montreal Det. Doug Hurley says Trudeau’s superiors have questions to answer.
“Police departments have become more educated, more professional, and laws have been drawn up. When a partner sees that their partner is doing something wrong, they are to come forward. They’re required to come forward,” he says.
With a report from CTVNews.ca