A Surete du Quebec police officer who fired rubber bullets into a crowd at a Victoriaville protest in 2012 has been suspended without pay for 35 days.
On Tuesday, police ethics commissioner Richard Uticone made the suspension of Denis Burelle official, following a recommendation made by the ethics board on Jan. 24.
The board found that Burelle “didn’t use an intermediate weapon with prudence and discernment.”
On May 4, 2012, a large student demonstration was held in front of the Voctorin Hotel’s convention centre, where the Quebec Liberal Party’s general council was meeting.
Burelle was one of six officers in the five platoons of police deployed by the SQ who carried an Arwen 37 impact weapon that fired the rubber projectiles.
The demonstration turned violent, with protesters throwing stones, billiard balls, metal balls, smoke bombs and other projectiles at police.
