The City of Montreal suspects a blue-collar worker of having committed a hit-and-run while intoxicated while driving a sidewalk snowcat very early last Monday in the city center, we learned. The Press.
The city quickly suspended him. The Montreal City Police Service (SPVM) is investigating the situation.
To make his case worse, the worker allegedly uttered racist insults and threats to colleagues after returning to the road yard. ” It is [un collègue] who snitch me esti”, he would have affirmed, according to the suspension letter which was given to him and that The Press obtained. “What is this black guy getting involved in? » The word “snitch” means “snitch”.
The blue-collar worker then allegedly mentioned: “I would punch him in the face,” according to the same document, which does not specify the identity of the target of these threats.
At the wheel of his snowcat, the blue-collar worker apparently hit and damaged a vehicle on rue Chapleau, between rue Hochelaga and rue de Rouen, around 2 a.m.
You did not stop, you left the scene, signaling silence to your colleague, and you did not report the accident. When you returned to the Bercy service yard, it was noted by the managers that you had signs of impairment.
Excerpt from the suspension letter given to the blue-collar worker
The damage caused by snowcats and other snow removal vehicles is legion on the streets of Montreal, with citizens often speaking publicly to denounce the speed at which they travel.
“You have seriously contravened the Code of Conduct for City of Montreal staff and you have failed in your obligation arising from the supervision of the use of alcohol, drugs and medication,” continues the suspension letter, dated the same day of the event.
The Press chose not to identify the blue-collar worker in question.
Two open investigations
The SPVM confirmed that it had opened an investigation into an event that occurred at the place and time mentioned in the suspension letter.
“The police went to the scene and noted that there was damage to a vehicle, thus being a hit and run,” said police spokesperson Julien Lévesque.
Witnesses were met at the scene. A search for cameras in the surrounding area was carried out. A report was written and transferred to SPVM investigators who will try to identify the individual who was behind the wheel.
Julien Lévesque, SPVM spokesperson
The union representing the worker involved declined to comment on the merits of the case.
“We have been informed that one of our members has been administratively suspended,” said Jean-Pierre Lauzon, president of the Syndicat des cols bleus groupeés de Montréal, in a statement sent by email. “There is an investigation so we cannot comment further. We will follow the file. »
The City of Montreal was not much more vocal.
“An investigation has been opened to shed light on this situation,” said spokesperson Guillaume Rivest.
“Considering the ongoing process and respecting the confidentiality of its employees’ files, the City of Montreal and the Ville-Marie borough will not make any further comments on this subject,” he added.