About 100 demonstrators protested against police brutality on Tuesday evening in the streets of Montreal. The Service de police de la Ville de Montréal (SPVM) reports eight misdeeds, one arson attack and one armed assault on a police officer.
Posted at 9:54 p.m.
Updated at 10:16 p.m.
“The police are settlers in criss”, “No one is safe from police brutality” or “I will have an abortion if he is a policeman”, could be read on the placards of the demonstrators. A large police presence closely followed the group that wandered the streets of southwestern Montreal.
The Collective Opposed to Police Brutality called on the population to demonstrate, like every March 15 for the past few years. The participants met at 5:30 p.m. at the Lionel-Groulx metro station in Montreal.
PHOTO SARAH MONGEAU-BIRKETT, THE PRESS
About 100 demonstrators protested against police brutality on Tuesday evening in the streets of Montreal.
“The demonstrators continue to march and move more and more objects on the road to harm the police following the demonstration. We are talking about garbage cans and cones, ”said Manuel Couture, spokesperson for the SPVM, around 6 p.m.
Fireworks were launched several times and graffiti was made, the spokesman said. Trash fires were also lit by protesters, he added.
PHOTO SARAH MONGEAU-BIRKETT, THE PRESS
“The demonstrators continue to march and move more and more objects on the road to harm the police following the demonstration. We are talking about garbage cans and cones, ”said Manuel Couture, spokesperson for the SPVM.
Around 7 p.m., the crowd was getting “more and more aggressive,” he said. “Assaults were committed and rocks were thrown at officers.” The windows of several businesses were damaged.
Following the misdeeds, the SPVM ordered the demonstrators to move away and leave the premises immediately. Chemical irritants were used to disperse the crowd.
The SPVM reports only one arrest, that of a 32-year-old man for mischief.