Montreal’s ‘Officer 728′ arrested after several accusations of brutality
A Montreal police officer who was captured on camera spraying an irritant directly into the eyes of protesters has been arrested, but her legal fate remains as uncertain as her judgment in dealing with people.
Stéfanie Trudeau was arrested at her home on Monday after investigations into several complaints of aggressive behaviour.
CTV Montreal reports that Trudeau was released on Tuesday without charges. A spokesperson for the Director of Criminal and Penal Prosecutions could not say whether the case had been dropped or if the Crown was simply seeking more information.
Trudeau shot to fame in May as “Matricule 728” (or “Officer 728”) after being captured on video shooting several student demonstrators with pepper spray.
[ Related: Embattled Montreal officer 728 arrested ]
In the video, a female officer pulls out a container and sprays a vocal demonstrator directly in the eyes. She then turns and sprays several other people nearby.
One woman who was sprayed can be seen weeping and gagging on the sidewalk for several minutes. “Officer 728” returns a short time later and sprays a person who was capturing the incident on video.
Here is the video:
You may be surprised to learn, however, that Trudeau’s arrest did not necessarily stem from that incident. The Canadian Press reports that Trudeau was also reprimanded in October after separate incident of alleged police brutality.
Police Chief Marc Parent said she was the subject of an internal inquiry and an investigation by Crown prosecutors after she was accused of hurting a bystander during an October arrest. She was also captured on audio referring to artists and musicians as “rats” and worse.
Only time will tell what will come of Trudeau's arrest.