(Quebec) A man from Quebec was arrested in murky circumstances in a restaurant in the capital, a few hours before the arrest of Pacifique Niyokwizera and a few kilometers further.
A video posted online shows several police officers from the Service de police de Québec (SPVQ) attempting to subdue Jean-Philippe St-Laurent. The man resists and the agents give him a few blows.
The arrest took place Friday at the Portofino restaurant in Sainte-Foy. Mr. St-Laurent had not spoken to us on Tuesday, but a friend assures us that before the video there had been “no blow, no jostling”.
“He is lying on the ground and overpowered by three police officers with great punches and knees,” says Sébastien Gauthier.
“There you are going to say ‘he just had to put his hands behind his back’. Have you ever eaten punches in the ribs and in the face without trying to protect yourself… ”
Mr. St-Laurent would have had his face cut by shards of glass on the ground, when the police knocked him to the ground.
Sébastien Gauthier indicates that a longer video of his friend’s arrest, with more context, exists. But he says it is being kept in a safe place to serve as evidence.
The SPVQ had not yet reacted to this new video at the time of publication.
Niyokwizera: an EIB investigation requested
The arrest of Mr. St-Laurent in Sainte-Foy took place a few hours before that of Mr. Niyokwizera in Old Quebec.
Opposition parties in Quebec also called on Tuesday for an independent investigation into the arrest of the 18-year-old black man.
Strong intervention is already at the heart of an internal investigation by the SPVQ. Quebec also asked the Police Ethics Commissioner to launch an investigation.
But this is not enough for the opposition, which is unanimously demanding that the Bureau of Independent Investigations (BEI) intervene.
“We would much prefer an independent investigation, which means an investigation conducted by the BEI, it would be much more transparent, independent,” believes the leader of the Parti Québécois, Paul St-Pierre Plamondon.
Gabriel Nadeau-Dubois quickly wants clarification from the SPVQ. “Between you and me, there, throwing snow in the face of the little guy, there, it was necessary for what? It was to protect the population from what danger? Asks the leader of Québec solidaire.
The Liberal Party of Quebec goes even further and calls for the immediate suspension of the police officers involved in the arrest of Mr. Niyokwizera.
“We ask for the suspension of these police officers, the time for the investigation to be carried out, the time that we understand, that we have all the information on what happened, on the reasons for this intervention- there, that we hear the explanations and that we can understand the bottom of the story, ”asks Liberal MP André Fortin.
The Premier of Quebec reiterated his confidence in the SPVQ on Tuesday. François Legault believes that the police force “understands very well that the bond of trust between citizens and the police is fragile”.
However, he is not yet ready to request an investigation from the BEI. “If it’s necessary, I’m ready to go further,” he said. What I want to tell the people of Quebec is that we are going to get to the bottom of things. ”