Montreal police officers received disciplinary sanctions in recent days for initiating a car chase following a fatal assault in a parking lot. The measure fuels discontent among SPVM patrol officers, who find themselves more and more in risky situations involving vehicles and who no longer know what to do.
“If the police cannot initiate a prosecution when it comes to murder, when will they be able to do so? asks a source who requested anonymity because she is not authorized to speak to the media.
“The bandits are no longer afraid of us, they know that we don’t prosecute because our leaders don’t want to. That’s why they rush with their tank,” adds another experienced police officer, also on condition of anonymity.
There has been a lot of talk lately about car thieves charging at police officers; over the past two months, this has reportedly happened about a dozen times, including on April 17 when an officer opened fire and injured a suspect.
But police officers find themselves in potential chase situations in many other circumstances.
Deadly Rage
On May 31, 2023, a 50-year-old father, who had just finished his work day in a flooring business, was the victim of an episode of road rage in the parking lot of the Gibeau Orange Julep restaurant. Hit in the head from behind, Andrei Petuhov was seriously injured when he fell to the ground and later died in hospital, survived by his wife, son and daughter.
PHOTO FROM THE DEATH NOTICE
Andrei Petuhov died as a result of the attack on him.
His attackers fled in a vehicle and police officers from the Eclipse squad chased them before losing sight of them.
One of the suspects was arrested a few days ago in France after being on the run for almost a year. He is awaiting extradition to stand trial in Quebec.
However, there is a “prosecution committee” at the Montreal City Police Service (SPVM) which analyzes each case of mechanized manhunt in Montreal and determines whether it was justified or not.
In this case, the prosecution committee has just recommended that sanctions be imposed on three police officers, including a one-day suspension for a sergeant blamed for “failure to take charge”.
The latter, however, contests the sanction and has asked internal affairs to investigate this matter.
“It is believed that the prosecution committee was completely misguided and lacked judgment in this particular situation, given the fact that there was minimally an armed assault which unfortunately later became a murder. We believe that the prosecution committee did not take the circumstances into account and did not leave room for the judgment of the police officers involved,” says the president of the Brotherhood of Police Officers of Montreal, Yves Francoeur.
“The Brotherhood already represents the three members we want to sanction, will support them and will do everything in its power to try to cancel this decision,” adds the union leader.
“What happened on May 31, 2023, you cannot have a better example of police officers who did their job,” adds another source who requested anonymity.
“The bosses tell us that we just have to take note of the license plate to find them later, but there are so many stolen tanks on the road, it’s far from certain that it works. A man died here! », exclaims another member of the SPVM.
Questioned by The Press, the management of the police force insisted on the high risks of pursuits in an urban environment like Montreal. The decision to go after suspects at high speed cannot be taken lightly, says the SPVM.
“Any police intervention involving a risk must be carried out with the aim of prioritizing the safety of the public, that of the police officers involved, then that of the suspect. Pursuing a vehicle in an urban environment represents a high-risk working method and constitutes an exceptional intervention of last resort,” states its communications department.
“A police officer who does not follow the procedure, in terms of vehicle pursuit or otherwise, is exposed to administrative or disciplinary sanctions,” adds the SPVM.
A message that doesn’t get through
According to our information, the sanctions imposed on the three police officers exacerbate the discontent of their colleagues who no longer know how to act when they find themselves in a potential situation of prosecution.
Since Wednesday, virtual meetings have been taking place with SPVM patrol officer supervisors to try to establish intervention guidelines.
Executives would have talked more about prohibitions and consequences rather than providing solutions, which “would not have gone down” with the sergeants, we were told.
Thursday morning, the management and the Brotherhood announced that since Monday, the numbers of certain investigation teams have doubled and that they are targeting vehicle theft networks and their leaders as a priority.
Both on the management and union side, we consider that the question “is not simple”, especially since the police can be held criminally responsible if a high-speed pursuit goes wrong.
Some understand that prosecutions are not necessary in cases of property crimes, but believe they should be permitted in cases of crimes against the person.
“In the meantime, the service’s directives are not clear and the guys are getting picked up while doing their job,” concludes a source.
To contact Daniel Renaud, call 514 285-7000, ext. 4918, write to [email protected] or write to the postal address of The Press.
When an offender refuses to immobilize his vehicle, a prosecution can be initiated when the following three elements are met:
• There is reason to believe that an offense has been committed or is about to be committed;
• The physical integrity or life of a person is threatened;
• There is no other alternative to arresting the offender.
Source: City of Montreal police service