Sanctions weighed for Montreal cop who threatened itinerant man
‘I will tie you to a pole for an hour,’ he is heard saying
A Montreal police officer is seen threatening a homeless man on Thursday during a cold snap.
Photograph by: YouTube
The police officer who threatened to tie an itinerant man to a pole
in the frigid cold met with his superiors for one hour Friday morning.
A police spokesperson confirmed the cop had a one-hour meeting with his
supervising officers who will decide what disciplinary sanctions to
impose on him.
In video footage that surfaced online Thursday, the officer is heard
telling a homeless man “I’ve told you that if I receive another 911 call
about you, I will tie you to a pole for an hour.”
The itinerant was wearing only shorts and a t-shirt and had reportedly
been acting aggresively with police and bystanders. Police say he was
the subject of four 911 calls before the officer uttered the threat and
repeated it.
“I swear — look into my eyes — I swear,” the officer said, pointing his
finger at the man, “I’ll tie you to a pole for an hour.”
VIDEO (YouTube):
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The man, who is seen holding a Styrofoam cup containing loose change in his right hand, cowered in front of the officer outside the Jean-Talon métro station.
With his left hand, the man grabbed the pompom of a red Santa Claus hat strung over his right shoulder. A police cruiser was parked next to the man and another officer is seen sitting inside, observing his colleague without making any comments.
The bystander who took the video on a smartphone uploaded it to YouTube, where it quickly went viral, eliciting many outraged comments, including from Coderre.
“The words of the police officer were unacceptable,” Montreal Mayor Denis Coderre said in a tweet at 9 p.m. Thursday, adding that he’s “concerned about the current conditions of the homeless” during this week’s cold snap.
Commander Ian Lafrenière, head of public affairs for the Montreal Police Department, said disciplinary action will be taken against the officer.
“It could be a reprimand, it could be many things,” Lafrenière told The Gazette after 10 p.m.
“What you heard on that video is unacceptable and unexplainable. The commanding officer will be meeting with him (Friday morning), and I can tell you he’s not happy at all.”
Lafrenière explained that the officers on the scene had received a number of 911 calls about the man, whom he described as aggressive, mentally unstable and well-known to police.
“The man was not wearing appropriate clothing for the weather and the officer offered to put him in the police car to take him to a shelter, but he refused,” he said. “A passerby then promised to follow him to a warmer place” and the man left.
The passerby who took the video is heard at one point addressing the police officer, asking, “You know that you are making threats and you have no right to do so?”
“Back up, sir,” the officer is heard replying in the wind. “We’re in the process of dealing with this man.”
“It’s sad,” Lafrenière said, noting that some police officers have been volunteering to work past their shifts to help the homeless find shelter in the minus-30 degree cold.
“For all the police officers in Montreal, this is a shock.”
aderfel@montrealgazette.com /
ccurtis@montrealgazette.com
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Commentary by the Ottawa Mens Centre
It's tragic that this is just one example that made it into the news. In every police force there is generally, some bad apples, except, most police forces only encourage bad apples.
In Ontario, the OIPRD is for the purpose of getting rid of complaints. It is a corrupt institution supporting cops who commit Criminal Offences.
In Ottawa, Det Peter Vanderzander can fabricate evidence and obstruct justice and get away with it because his superiors wipe the dirt under the carpet and that lump keeps getting larger and continues to create an odour that every criminal lawyer and every victim in Ottawa knows about.
It's extremely sad when Police forces fail to take action against officers who commit criminal offences against the administration of justice.
Whats even worse is that our Judiciary turn a deliberate blind eye and in doing so, encourage the blatant criminal offences by Police officers who rightfully believe that they are above the law.
In Ottawa, the Ottawa Police abuse the victims of abuse. They promote violence agains men. In Ottawa if a father calls the police to report an assault by a mother, the police arrest the father. The partner assault group specialize in laying charges against male victims of domestic violence to remove children from full time fathers. Apparently that contradicts their policy that only mothers can be victims of violence.
Detective Peter Vandderzander is a classic example of how the Ottawa Police fabricate evidence to avoid laying charges against violent women. If you have been a victim of an Ottawa Police Officer fabricating evidence in a domestic violence matter or in conjuction with the corrupt Children's Aid Society email ottawamenscentre (at) gmail.
www.OttawaMensCentre.com