The young man who disarmed and shot a police officer, a few months after warning an imam of his intentions, has just been declared guilty on all counts.
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“Guilty,” repeated the president of the jury this Wednesday at the Montreal courthouse.
Sitting in the dock behind large bay windows, Ali Ngarukiye remained impassive, although casting a few glances into the courtroom. He hoped to be acquitted, after his lawyers argued that there was reasonable doubt about the identity of the person who attacked police officer Sanjay Vig in January 2021.
The brutal attack occurred along Highway 40 in Montreal. At that time, the police officer was in the process of giving a ticket to motorist Mamadi Camara when he was attacked from behind with a metal bar.
Police officer Sanjay Vig during the trial of Ali Ngarukiye at the Montreal courthouse.
Photo Agence QMI, Mario Beauregard
An altercation ensued, during which Ngarukiye managed to grab the policeman’s pistol, then fired it in his direction.
The metal bar used by Ali Ngarukiye to attack agent Sanjay Vig.
Courtesy (Photo provided by the Court)
Announced to an imam
Ngarukiye then fled with stolen cars. Mr. Camara was initially accused, but after a few days in detention, the police were able to establish that he had nothing to do with the crime.
Mamadi Camara during her testimony at the trial of Ali Ngarukiye.
Archive photo, Pierre-Paul Poulin
The real perpetrator of the crime was subsequently arrested in Toronto. It was in this metropolis, six months earlier, that he had announced to an imam that he wanted to attack a police officer.
“He had made the statement that he intended to kill a police officer,” explained M.e Guillaume. He said that Canada was a country of “non-believers.”
In total, Crown prosecutors Mare Jasmine Guillaume and Louis Bouthillier called 63 witnesses, including Agent Vig who was harshly cross-examined.
“It was difficult for him, he was questioned about his credibility, about his duties as a police officer, about allegations of racial profiling,” explained Me Guillaume saying he was “satisfied” with the verdict.
The “happy” Brotherhood
Because in addition to having been found guilty of attempted murder, Ngarukiye was also found guilty of aggravated assault, of having disarmed the police officer, of having shot him, and of having stolen the two vehicles of leaked a few days earlier.
“We are very happy with the verdict, justice has been done,” commented to Newspaper Yves Francoeur, president of the Montreal Police Brotherhood.
Mr. Francoeur recalled that being a police officer was “not easy in Montreal” and that Officer Vig had unfortunately been a victim of this “dark side” of law enforcement work.
Ngarukiye will return to court at a later date for sentencing submissions. But his problems are far from over since he will have to stand trial for the murder of a fellow inmate next spring.
Mental Health
It is also not excluded that the sentence will occur after the murder trial, given that Me Sharon Sandiford of the defense has already announced that she wishes to wait for medical reports regarding her client.
“We noticed certain things on the mental level, but I do not want to get ahead of myself,” the lawyer explained to judge François Dadour. [Attendre l’analyse des rapports] will provide greater insight into imposing an appropriate sentence.”