Three of the five officers of the Quebec City Police Department suspended since heavy arrests at the end of 2021 are back to work.
• Read also: Crisis at the SPVQ after violent arrests, five police officers suspended
• Read also: Violent intervention by the SPVQ in Portofino: the Ethics Commissioner also looks into the case
TVA Nouvelles has obtained confirmation that the agents in question resumed their duties on December 20 within the GRIPP unit, responsible for patrolling bars and monitoring the activities of street gangs in the Old Capital.
The management of the SPVQ and the professional standards module made this decision after evaluating their role in the interventions criticized.
- Listen to the news of Vincent Dessureault and Carl Marchand on QUB radio:
The five police officers were suspended with pay at the end of the year following at least three videos shared on social networks, in which they are seen making arrests using compromising techniques.
“Worrisome” images
Courtesy screenshot and photo
On the videos shared on social networks, we see the SPVQ agents attempting to control Jean-Philippe St-Laurent (mortise) by hitting him several times, on November 26, 2021, at the Portofino de Sainte-Foy.
At that time, the SPVQ police fraternity said it was “surprised” by this infrequent decision. The union president said she was worried that this decision was the result of political pressure.
Deputy Prime Minister Geneviève Guilbault had notably qualified the images as “worrying”.
In the case of the two other suspended officers, investigations by the SPVQ and police ethics are still ongoing. The findings of these inquiries will determine whether they will be disciplined.
Accusations
Recall that the arrests of Jean-Philippe St-Laurent and Pacifique Niyokwizera, which subsequently went viral on the internet, were carried out by the GRIPP squad.
One of Pacific’s friends Niyokwizera, who suffered a heavy-handed arrest, was pinned for sexually assaulting two 15-year-old girls with two alleged accomplices. The SPVQ was looking for other victims. Some are said to have claimed to have been drugged with GHB before being assaulted.
Kalilou Barry had given media interviews to denounce the alleged police brutality of his friend.
Barry was in the group accompanying the young man when an altercation with the police took place near the bar Le Dagobert.
Barry had been in the sights of the SPVQ sex crime investigators since September, we can read in confidential documents obtained by our Investigation Office.
– With TVA News