A man who seriously injured a police officer during her arrest in Quebec City in 2019 will ultimately have to pay her nearly $6,000 after losing his small claims case.
Steve Rodrigue was ordered to pay nearly $700 to police officer Isabelle Lorrain of the Service de police de la Ville de Québec (SPVQ) for her loss of salary and travel expenses, in addition to $5,000 for “pain, fatigue , stress, quality of life, risk of new injuries in the context of his police work”.
In a rather rare step, the SPVQ officer decided to sue her attacker directly in the Small Claims Division of the Court of Quebec.
Dangerous arrest
On July 28, 2019, Rodrigue was arrested for disorder by agent Lorrain and a colleague. The duo held the 41-year-old by the arms when he decided to resist arrest.
Officer Lorrain lost her footing and fell. While trying to get up, Rodrigue threw “his left elbow at the plaintiff’s face, more precisely at the upper base of the nose”, can we read in the judgment rendered by Judge Pierre E. Audet, at the courthouse of Quebec.
She then began to bleed profusely from her nose, was in great pain and was unable to get up.
Significant injuries
She was taken to hospital, where she was diagnosed with a broken nose and whiplash, among other things.
The police officer had to be off work for almost a month.
Rodrigue was convicted in December 2021 of assaulting a peace officer. He received a year in prison.
The Quebec resident had a history of theft and drugs.