The charges are the result of an investigation by the Office of Independent Investigations (BEI) into two events that occurred in the fall of 2021.
On the night of October 16 to 17, images of an intervention by the police at the District Saint-Joseph bar were captured by security cameras. We see the policeman violently pushing Mathieu Gamache head first against a wall.
Mr. Gamache’s lawyer, François-David Bernier, is not not surprised
to see the police officer who is criminally charged by the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions (DPCP). In this file, there is a video which is overwhelming, in which we see excessive force, violence, this is what constituted for us an assault with injury
he comments.
The assault charges are, according to counsel, a reconnaissance
what his client experienced was not normal
.
The police can exert force if there is a threat to him or to others, but we were not at all in this case
analyzes Me Bernier while his client seemed to be backing up with his hands in the air when he was pushed against the wall.
Mathieu Gamache claims to have suffered a concussion from which he retains the after-effects to this day. He also claims nearly $400,000 to the City of Quebec in compensatory damages. His lawyer points out, however, that the criminal trial awaiting the police officer could delay the civil suit.
For its part, the Police Brotherhood recalls in a press release that DPCP to charge a police officer shall not be construed as confirmation of that officer’s guilt”,”text”:”the DPCP’s decision to charge a police officer shall not be construed as confirmation of that officer’s guilt policeman”}}”>the decision of DPCP to accuse a policeman should not be interpreted as confirming the guilt of that policeman. The union adds that there is sometimes a thin line between the use of necessary force and the use of excessive force in the course of a police job.
Second violent arrest
The DPCP also accuses Jacob Picard of having assaulted another individual a week later, on October 24.
During an intervention in the Grande Allée sector, another video shows the policeman threatening a man with pepper spray before pushing him violently against a patrol car.
Police officer Jacob Picard is currently assigned to administrative duties.