A former drug addict accused without any evidence of impaired driving has just been released from the charges against him because of repeated abuse by the police against him during his arrest.
“The conduct alleged against the police is serious. […] They must not take advantage of the significant powers they hold to exceed the limits imposed on them at the risk of creating situations which degenerate as in the present case, “said Judge Jacques Ladouceur at the Amos courthouse, in Abitibi-Témiscamingue.
On April 28, the latter put an end to the legal process against Michel Junior Charron, accused of impaired driving, but also of assault, threats to cause death or bodily harm to police officers and of having resisted these, in particular.
On August 3, 2020, Sûreté du Québec officers received a call regarding a road trip in Preissac, Abitibi-Témiscamingue. It should be noted that in the decision, the police officers were referred to only by their surname.
Arrived at the scene, they discovered Michel Junior Charron’s car in the ditch, seriously damaged.
The 46-year-old man is considered a “violent” individual by the Quebec Police Intelligence Center. He has a number of criminal records, including assault and break and enter.
Police testimony questioned
Shortly after arriving at the scene of the accident, Sergeant Gélinas arrested Michel Junior Charron for drug-impaired driving.
The driver had however maintained that he had not taken drugs, no smell of cannabis had been detected and the search had not found any illicit substance.
The policeman claimed in court that he arrested him because he was “very, very, very sleepy”, had “very, very heavy eyelids”, had a shaky gait and a longer response time than normal.
Judge Ladouceur, however, gave very little value to the testimony of Sergeant Gélinas, which he described as “riddled with exaggerations, inconsistencies, implausibilities and contradictions”.
“Nothing could reasonably lead Sergeant Gélinas to believe that the accused had driven his vehicle while impaired,” he said.
Handcuffed way too tight
Thus, when Sergeant Gélinas proceeded to arrest Charron, the latter was “displeased”, so much so that the policeman then asked for his colleague’s help to handcuff him.
“The putting on of the handcuffs then contributed to the deterioration of the situation, these having been put on much too tightly and causing real pain in the accused”, we read, specifying that Charron had pain in his wrists for a month and a half.
The police then decided to use force against him, including kicking him, putting on a spit mask and spraying him with cayenne pepper.
Head in the toilet to wash
Michel Junior Charron was then transported to the Amos police station and will remain in his cell, handcuffed behind his back, for almost ten hours.
These restraints prevented the accused from using tap water to rinse his face. So he had to put his head in the toilet bowl to reduce his pain caused by the cayenne pepper.
During this maneuver, Charron even “heard comments and laughter from some police officers,” it says.
Upon his release, the accused requested that photographs of his wrists be taken to demonstrate the injuries caused by the handcuffs.
Photo filed in court
The policeman who photographed his hands, where you can see deep marks on the wrists, described the injuries as “serious” to the court.
“Allowing the trial to continue in the face of such behavior by the police, in the context of an alleged offense for which the police officer did not initially have reasonable grounds to make the arrest, is not acceptable. concluded Judge Ladouceur, ordering a stay of proceedings against Michel Junior Charron.