Quebec officer charged with assault after probe by police watchdog
Charges have been laid against a Surete du Quebec officer following an investigation by Quebec’s police watchdog, the Bureau des Enquetes Independantes (BEI).
The charges, brought forward by the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP), stem from an event that took place in Saint-Cyrille-de-Wendover on July 16, 2020, when a man was seriously injured during a police intervention, according to the (BEI).
The BEI investigation is reportedly the first to result in criminal charges against a police officer.
The watchdog submitted its report on the incident in December and a common assault charge has since been laid against Surete du Quebec officer Danny Poliquin.
The BEI opened the investigation on July 20, just days after the incident.
According to the watchdog report, an officer on a motorcycle intercepted a vehicle that had stopped on the shoulder of Highway 20 due to a punctured tire.
“When the police officer told him to have his vehicle towed, the civilian reacted badly and did not comply with the police officer's repeated requests,” read the report.
The officer proceeded to bring the man to the ground in order to restrain him and after a brief struggle, the officer handcuffed the man.
Two other officers arrived at the scene about an hour after the intervention.
“As they tried to get him to his feet, the man lost consciousness. He was returned to the ground. The civilian was breathing while unconscious," according to the report.
The man was transported to hospital in an ambulance and regained consciousness, according to the BEI.
“Since the case is before the courts, the BEI will not make more information public in order not to undermine the fairness and integrity of the judicial process,” wrote the watchdog in a Tuesday press release.
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'They needed people inside Air Canada:' Police announce arrests in Pearson gold heist
Police say one former and one current employee of Air Canada are among the nine suspects that are facing charges in connection with the gold heist at Pearson International Airport last year.
House admonishes ArriveCan contractor in rare parliamentary show of power
MPs enacted an extraordinary, rarely used parliamentary power on Wednesday, summonsing an ArriveCan contractor to appear before the House of Commons where he was admonished publicly and forced to provide answers to the questions MPs said he'd previously evaded.
Trump lawyers say Stormy Daniels refused subpoena outside a Brooklyn bar, papers left 'at her feet'
Donald Trump's legal team says it tried serving Stormy Daniels a subpoena as she arrived for an event at a bar in Brooklyn last month, but the porn actor, who is expected to be a witness at the former president's criminal trial, refused to take it and walked away.
Why drivers in Eastern Canada could see big gas price spikes, and other Canadians won't
Drivers in Eastern Canada face a big increase in gas prices because of various factors, especially the higher cost of the summer blend, industry analysts say.
'A living nightmare': Winnipeg woman sentenced following campaign of harassment against man after online date
A Winnipeg woman was sentenced to house arrest after a single date with a man she met online culminated in her harassing him for years, and spurred false allegations which resulted in the innocent man being arrested three times.
Customers disappointed after email listing $60K Tim Hortons prize sent in error
Several Tim Horton’s customers are feeling great disappointment after being told by the company that an email stating they won a boat worth nearly $60,000 was sent in error.
Woman who pressured boyfriend to kill his ex in 2000s granted absences from prison
A woman who pressured her boyfriend into killing his teenage ex more than a decade ago will be allowed to leave prison for weeks at a time.
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter banned from NBA
Toronto Raptors player Jontay Porter has been handed a lifetime ban from The National Basketball Association (NBA) following an investigation which found he disclosed confidential information to sports bettors, the league says.
Attempt to have murder charge quashed against alleged serial killer dismissed by judge
A motion filed by the man accused of killing four Indigenous women in Winnipeg to have one of those murder charges quashed has been dismissed by the judge – weeks before the start of his trial.