Two Montreal police constables were suspended without pay with regards to a threat made to a vulnerable man in freezing weather. The officers had to appear before the province’s police ethics committee after a passerby posted a video of the incident on the internet.
On Jan. 2, 2014 a citizen had complained to a police dispatcher that a man was harassing people inside a subway station. The man was lightly dressed even though the temperature outside was -24C with a wind chill making it feel like -37 C.
‘Intimidation’ and ‘abuse of authority’
Officers Pierre-Luc Gauthier and Vincent Marcotte answered the call and spoke to the man indoors, then ushered him outside. Gauthier reprimanded him and said he would handcuff him to a pole if he got any more complaints about him.
In his defence, Gauthier said he was only trying to make sure he had the man’s attention. The committee ruled he had violated two sections of the police code of ethics, namely he had used intimidation and showed disrespect. It called the threat “excessive” and an “abuse of authority.” Gauthier was suspended for two days.
Partner should have intervened, says commission
Marcotte was suspended for one day for failing to respect the law and for not intervening when his partner, Gauthier, breached the code of ethics.
The video went viral and was an embarrassment for the Montreal police. The chief of police later intervened to locate the man and make sure he was all right.
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