MONTREAL - Students at CEGEP de St. Jerome marched and wore eye patches on Friday morning after Francis Grenier, 22, was allegedly hit in the eye by a Montreal police stun grenade earlier this week.
And even some teachers were on board to protest the use of stun grenades.
"I was shocked when I heard one of our students was possibly losing an eye," said Charles-Etienne Gill, a Literature teacher at Cegep St-Jerome. "We called each other, we needed to do something."
The teachers helped organize the march after they learned that one of their students was injured during a demonstration in front of the Loto Quebec building Wednesday. Grenier remains in hospital and doctors are unsure if he will lose his right eye.
The demonstrators considered the tactics unjustified and marched to their local MNA's office demanding answers.
Julie Perreault-Paiement was standing next to Grenier when he was hit.
"It had a great impact on my coat. When it hit I couldn't feel my arm, my jaw or my hand. Francis and I started running, we were panicked. That's when we noticed what had happened to his eye," said Perreault-Paiement.
Montreal police insist stun grenades are a safe alternative to smoke bombs and pepper spray to disperse crowds.
"They're meant to blow-up eight to 10 feet overhead, they're a sound grenade," said Police Inspector Alain Bourdages.
He said that there might be an examination of police actions but had no apologies for the result of Wednesday's altercations.
"When there are criminal acts going on, we have to react," he said.
Security consultant Michel Deslauriers considers the stun grenades potentially dangerous.
They produce noise as loud as 175 decibels, meant to incapacitate their target for up to 45 minutes.
"This being pyrotechnic equipment, there's always the possibility of of injuring somebody while using it," said Deslauriers of Protact Security.
Students are protesting the Quebec government's plan to nearly double tuition by 2017. A large protest is planned for March 22.
