Police officers abandoned a paralyzed woman, lying on a sidewalk in Ahuntsic, “as if you were throwing away your trash,” a witness to the incident denounced on Monday.
“They took the lady out of the car, they dragged her in pairs, as if you were throwing away your trash. They left her like that,” a witness to the facts, Vanessa César, told The Press. Five other eyewitnesses, all interviewed on Monday, said they were troubled by the events that occurred on September 26 near the intersection of Meunier and Sauriol streets.
The woman, who was able to move normally before her arrest a few dozen minutes earlier, was completely paralyzed when she was left in a very unfortunate position, in front of her HLM, by police officers from the local station. Nearly an hour passed before an ambulance arrived, after repeated 911 calls from neighbors.
The Bureau of Independent Investigations (BEI), the police force, is currently trying to shed light on this event, which is causing a lot of commotion in the corridors of the Police Department of the City of Montreal.
The Press reported Saturday that two police officers involved were assigned to administrative duties.
The woman in question was reportedly arrested and physically restrained in front of a school where her child was, on September 26, as she left classes. A court order prohibited contact between the mother and the minor, prompting the school to call the police.
“Cries of anguish »
On Monday, six eyewitnesses to the incident reported being disturbed by the actions of these police officers. The woman, that The Press chose not to name, remained motionless throughout the wait.
“She was screaming at first. Cries of anguish,” reported Vanessa César, who was visiting a friend nearby. “They should have taken her to the hospital instead of leaving her on the floor. »
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
The building in front of which the woman was abandoned.
“There was nothing moving anymore, she remained motionless like that on the ground” until the ambulances arrived, said Denis Chénier, who lives in a building nearby.
There were people asking her name and she didn’t answer. She only said: “I don’t want to die, I don’t want to die.” She was just saying that.
Denis Chénier, witness
His neighbor, Nico Bilima, was one of the first to arrive on the scene. He called 911 twice to report that a woman was on the sidewalk, unable to move. At least one other person imitated him, without an ambulance quickly showing up. “We couldn’t risk lifting it and something happening,” he said. It was the first time I saw it take so long for an ambulance. »
Mr. Bilima’s mother, Jolly Charlie Amata, also assisted the woman. “She was lying completely on the sidewalk, really in the path of pedestrians. She was blocking the sidewalk,” she said. They estimate that the ambulance took between 40 minutes and 1 hour to arrive.
Urgences-santé did not respond to our questions about its arrival time.
PHOTO ROBERT SKINNER, THE PRESS
On Monday, the woman said she was still at Sacré-Cœur hospital.
The Press was able to briefly contact the woman at the center of this story Monday afternoon. She limited herself to stating that she was still at the Sacré-Cœur hospital, but did not want to specify her current state of health, nor comment on the situation.
Completely still
Two videos filmed by witnesses to the events are circulating in the corridors of the HLM where the lady lived. They show three police officers working around her. At one point, one of the agents leans over to try to get him to sign a document, without success. It would be a promise to appear, according to witnesses who found a copy on the woman.
The videos show the lady completely motionless.
“The policeman didn’t care about the lady,” said Entela Duka, who filmed one of them. She gave a copy to BEI investigators. “They left her like a dog. The police left. » She estimates that the ambulance took an hour and a half to arrive.
Mme Entela describes the lady at the center of the story as a “normal” neighbor, with two children. “A calm person. »
Adèle Aboua, who attends the same church as her, appeared in front of the HLM on Monday in the hope of hearing from her. “She came with her children,” she said. We no longer saw her. »
Stopped in front school
The BEI had already made public a chronology of events at the end of September.
During his arrest in front of his child’s school, “the person became agitated and aggressive towards one of the police officers. The agents would then have arrested the person and brought them to the ground in order to handcuff them behind their back,” describes the BEI in a press release released without making waves.
After the arrest, the woman “would have mentioned having pain in her neck”, describes the BEI.
A few minutes later, when the police wanted to release her, she “mentioned being unable to go out and she mentioned having pain in her neck as well as tingling in her limbs”.
It was ultimately the police themselves who took the woman out of the patrol car “and then placed her on the ground on her back” in front of her home. The police then left the scene.
“Injuries serious »
According to our information, the woman was transported to Fleury hospital, then to Sacré-Cœur hospital. It was there that she was “operated on for serious injuries”, according to the terms mentioned by the BEI.
According to our information, the woman involved still suffers from serious paralysis, almost a month after the events. The Press could not establish with certainty the nature of the problem which afflicts him. The BEI must also shed light on the causal link between the arrest and the health problem.
According to a source, BEI investigators are analyzing in particular compliance – by police officers – with the article of the Criminal Code which forces any peace officer to come to the aid of a person in difficulty who is in detention.