Manifestation à Montréal

[MontréalYul]

LCN

 

 

Vingt et un individus ont été arrêtés jusqu'à maintenant dans le cadre de la manifestation du Collectif opposé à la brutalité policière, dimanche après-midi, à Montréal.

 

Certaines de ces personnes ont été arrêtées par mesure préventive, selon le Service de police de la Ville de Montréal. Selon le porte-parole, Ian Lafrenière, les gens ont été arrêtés puisqu'ils possédaient des bâtons ou des roches.

 

Des projectiles, dont une fusée éclairante, ont été lancés vers les policiers sur l'avenue du Mont-Royal avant le début de la manifestation.

 

Plusieurs centaines de personnes s'étaient regroupées autour de la station Mont-Royal, point de départ de la manifestation. Certaines d'entres elles étaient masquées.

 

Le début de l'événement a été retardé en raison de l'interruption du service de métro sur la ligne orange pendant au moins 30 minutes. La Société de transport de Montréal a raconté qu'un passager aurait actionné un rupteur de courant, ce qui a arrêté une rame entre deux stations. La STM a dû faire appel aux policiers car des personnes s'étaient aventurées dans le tunnel.

 

Avant la manifestation, un porte-parole a prononcé un discours dénonçant les déclarations de la Fraternité des policiers de Montréal après l'affaire Villanueva. Une autre porte-parole a aussi lancé un appel au calme.

 

Cette manifestation contre la brutalité policière donne lieu chaque année à des dizaines d'arrestations, pour vandalisme et voies de fait notamment.

 

En point de presse vendredi, les porte-parole du Collectif opposé à la brutalité policière ont répété qu'ils n'encourageaient pas la violence, même s'ils comprenaient la frustration de plusieurs manifestants.

 

Le Collectif soutient que les policiers abusent de leur pouvoir, et bénéficient de la complicité des tribunaux et des gouvernements.

 

Cette manifestation contre la brutalité policière donne lieu chaque année à des dizaines d'arrestations, pour vandalisme et voies de fait notamment.

[LindbergMTL]

Tout comme la guerre contre le terrorisme produit plus de terrorisme, la guerre contre la guerre produit plus de guerre.

[OursNoir]

Ils ont lancés des pierres sur la vitrine du 400 Sherbrooke Ouest...

 

C'est assez ironique qu'une manifestation contre la brutalité policière commence à dégénérer lorsque des individus lancent des pierres à ces mêmes policiers qu'ils dénoncent de ne pas les comprendre... Arrêter de les harceler, peut-être qu'ils seront plus clément lors de votre arrestation!

[JFrosty]

C'est clair que faire du vandalisme pendant une manifestation contre la brutalité policière, c'est pas très fort.

[Malek]

vraiment ridicule... ces petits cons méritent de se faire envoyer dans le nunavik.

[MTLskyline]

Si ils veulent voir la vraie brutalité policière ils devront faire leur petit démonstration à Pékin.

[MTLskyline]

200 arrests in police brutality march

Marchers blocked major streets, causing traffic tie-ups

 

The Gazette

March 16, 2009 12:01 AM

 

A protester stands amidst a throng of riot police near Mont Royal métro yesterday during annual march against police brutality.

 

Photograph by: John Kenney, The Gazette

 

Rocks, bottles and tear gas flew, and police cracked down Sunday during the annual march against police brutality, arresting more than 200 people.

 

Two police officers were slightly injured in the protest that began about 2 p.m. at the Mont Royal métro station and wound through streets downtown.

 

Wearing pictures of slain Fredy Villanueva and carrying signs asking, “Who will protect us from the police?” several hundred people – many wearing masks – marched through the Plateau Mont Royal and downtown, disrupting traffic and throwing food and other objects at police.

 

After about 90 minutes, police used tear gas to break up the crowd at Sherbrooke and St. Denis Sts.

 

That started what turned into a long cat-and-mouse game, as police chased down roving bands of protesters.

 

Some became violent.

 

Marchers overturned garbage cans and set some on fire, and some vehicles and businesses were damaged by people throwing rocks.

 

Three hours after the march started, dozens of protesters were encircled by riot police at Ste. Catherine and Bleury Sts., where police fired rubber bullets at people throwing bottles and rocks.

 

More than 150 of those were arrested for bylaw infractions, and the most common of those infractions was participating in an illegal demonstration. Police ruled the protest to be illegal just as it began because some people were carrying weapons.

 

“We let them walk but then when we gave the order to leave, when it started to get violent about 3:30 or 4 p.m., we started arresting people,” Montreal police Sgt. Ian Lafrenière said Sunday night.

 

Hundreds of officers worked the protest, including the riot squad and police on bicycles and horseback.

 

Many were wearing camouflage pants, something the city of Montreal tried unsuccessfully to stop for fear of mixing up police with protesters.

 

Two police officers were slightly injured – one when he was hit in the arm with a rock; the other when he fell. Some people were arrested even before the demonstration started because they were carrying rocks and other objects, police said.

 

The protest, organized by the Collectif opposé à la brutalité policière, began around 2 p.m. at the Mont Royal métro station, where people clapped as a band played and listened to speeches criticizing police for the Aug. 9 killing of Fredy Villanueva. Villanueva, 18, was not armed when he was fatally shot and two others were injured. A public inquest is to begin May 25.

 

Organizers told protesters the police were “already on edge” and looking for any opportunity to arrest them.

 

“The police think they can do what they want, hit us with billy clubs, use pepper spray, arrest us – just because we say no to them,” said one man, who added he has been arrested countless times, for things like spitting and sitting on park benches.

 

There was confusion throughout the afternoon, first when service on the métro’s orange line was interrupted for nearly an hour – many demonstrators were taking the subway to the Mont Royal station.

 

Someone pulled an emergency brake on the platform in one of the stations, Société de transport de Montréal spokesperson Marianne Rouette said.

 

Outside the Mont Royal métro station, several hundred demonstrators were confined by police to two blocks of the street. Some protesters lit firecrackers and lobbed bottles, broccoli and other vegetables at riot police across the street. Police responded by spraying the crowd.

 

Police eventually let the crowd out onto St. Denis St., where they filled the street, blocking traffic and heading south. At some intersections no one was directing traffic, and drivers trying to cross or turn onto St. Denis St. were left cooling their heels.

 

Police had advised businesses to take precautions like keeping garbage cans and flower planters indoors, but most were open for business and few seemed worried about the demonstration, although some had moved items indoors.

 

“I have no problem with this; it’s a march against violence, so there’s no reason for me to believe there will be violence,” said an employee at a framing shop on St. Denis. Customers were in the store, one paying for his purchase as chanting marchers went by.

 

But others disagreed. One man watching from the sidewalk shook his head as masked young people walked by.

 

“If it’s a choice between them and the police, I’ll take the police,” he said.

 

Riot police eventually boxed in several dozen protesters at Bleury and Ste. Catherine, near a construction site. Some people went into the fenced area and picked up rocks and other items and threw them at police. Protesters said police responded by firing rubber bullets at them.

 

Riot police marched along Ste. Catherine toward the corralled demonstrators, clearing the street, and around 6 p.m. began arresting demonstrators, taking them out of the crowd one at a time, putting plastic handcuffs on them, frisking them and putting them on waiting buses. Four buses were filled with people arrested, and several police vans were also filled. It took until about 9 p.m.

 

At last year’s march, 47 people were arrested and about 10 restaurant windows were broken and one car was firebombed.

 

An analysis by the Collectif last August says that 42 people have died at the hands of police in Montreal since 1987. Of those, 28 per cent were visible minorities. And in 86 per cent of those cases, police were exonerated.

 

That compilation did not include the Villanueva case.

Jason Magder of The Gazette contributed to this report

mbeaudin@thegazette.canwest.com

mharrold@thegazette.canwest.com

© Copyright © The Montreal Gazette

http://www.montrealgazette.com/news/arrests+police+brutality+march/1392340/story.html

Video clip: http://watch.ctv.ca/news/Redirect/?ClipId=150338

 

WOW. I say lock all the violent ones up and throw away the key. I don't care if some people march peacefully, but when they start throwing projectiles, vandalizing public and private property and assaulting people they should be treated as low-ranking terrorists.

 

They should take a lesson from a similar march in Winnipeg:

http://watch.ctv.ca/news/Redirect/?ClipId=150273

[Habsfan]

Ils méritent tous d'être emprisonné. Ce sont majoritairement des jeunes PUNK qui ne cherchent qu,a brasser de la merde avec la police!

 

À chaque année c'est la même histoire...ça commence à être redondant leur affaire...

 

Je suis contre la brutalité policière, mais nous sommes à Montréal...pas à Pékin ou a Moscou.

[LindbergMTL]

Ce qui est en train d'arriver , en fait, est le contraire de leur propre objectif: la police est vue comme une cible, et gagne plus d'appréciation dans la population.

[Malek]

Ça c'est vrai... en voyant les images aux nouvelles hier, c'était ridicule ce que ces petits cons font... ils poussaient un mini-container de poubelle à roue sur les policiers (il y avait une pente en bonus)... trop dangeureux, je me demande ou il a abouti ce container, sur quel char ou édifice.