(Quebec) A police intervention degenerated in Quebec when about sixty people behaved aggressively towards officers near a bar, on the night of Friday to Saturday, indicated the Police Department of the City of Quebec (SPVQ). two police officers had to be hospitalized, while five people were arrested
According to the Service de police de la Ville de Québec (SPVQ), patrol officers had to intervene around 12:45 a.m. on Saturday in response to a call indicating the presence of a man who wanted to fight with several people on rue Saint -Joseph, near licensed establishments.
The 21-year-old man was arrested for disorder, but at the time of his arrest, the officers witnessed another assault which took place a few meters from them, between two citizens.
“Police approached the suspect and arrested him. It was at this time that a hostile gathering of around sixty people was created and converged in the direction of the police intervention, ”explains the SPVQ in a press release.
During the intervention, a 29-year-old man violently attacked a police officer, causing the latter to fall to the ground. The suspect began to constrain the movement of the police officer on the ground. Other officers had to use force on the suspect to subdue him and arrest him.
Excerpt from a press release from the SPVQ
Among the crowd, a 26-year-old man was “shouting, clearly urging the crowd to remain hostile towards the police,” police said. An officer therefore used cayenne pepper to “keep a safe distance between the aggressive crowd and the police”, indicates the SPVQ.
Once the situation was under control, four men were arrested for causing a disturbance and swearing at a peace officer, while the 29-year-old man was arrested for assault causing injury to a peace officer. The latter remains detained.
The police say that some suspects strongly resisted their arrest and that “necessary force” had to be used to subdue them.
Two police officers were transported to a hospital, including one with serious head injuries, and two other officers suffered injuries that did not require ambulance transport.