Quebec police officer charged with assault, in 1st for watchdog

For the first time, a Quebec police watchdog investigation into the conduct of an officer during a police operation has resulted in criminal charges.

Prosecutors have charged Danny Poliquin of the Sûreté du Québec (SQ) with assault after a civilian was seriously injured during an intervention on July 16, 2020, in Saint-Cyrille-de-Wendover, 115 kilometres northeast of Montreal.

In its initial statement about the incident, the BEI said the officer was checking for speeding motorists at around 11:30 a.m. when he saw a vehicle parked on the shoulder of Highway 20 East.

When he investigated, he found a 30-year-old man in the car showing signs of impairment, the statement says. When the officer attempted to arrest the man, there was an altercation, it says.

The officer wrestled the man to the ground and the man lost consciousness, the  statement says. The man was taken to hospital, but his injuries were not life-threatening, it says.

BEI report says motorist resisted arrest

These initial reports are released shortly after the incident, before a full investigation is launched by the BEI, which takes over cases when civilians are seriously injured or killed in police operations.

Its findings are given to Quebec's prosecution service, which decides whether to press charges.

In December of 2020, the BEI filed a report with the Crown that was slightly different than the original version of events — events that were filmed by the 30-year-old man's wife.

According to the BEI's report, the SQ was checking on the stopped vehicle which had a flat and the driver allegedly refused to comply with the police officer's request to have his car towed. The man's refusal devolved into an altercation, the report says.

Poliquin tried to control the motorist who resisted arrest, the report says, and that's when the scuffle ended with the driver on the ground. The BEI report says the officer used various techniques of physical control before getting the civilian in handcuffs.

When the reinforcements arrive, the report says, the man passed out when they tried to bring him to his feet. He was breathing, but unconscious, the report says. He was transported to hospital where he regained consciousness a few minutes later, the report says. 

1st charge after 174 investigations into police operations

Since its creation in 2016, the BEI has completed 174 investigations into police operations that led to serious injury or death of a civilian. None had resulted in charges before today.

By comparison, the BEI has led 180 investigations into alleged illegal activity by police, and 13 have resulted in charges.

Tuesday's announcement comes exactly one week after the family of Koray Kevin Celik, a 28-year-old Montreal man who died during a police operation, was awarded $30,000 in damages in a civil suit against the BEI.

In his ruling issued on June 8, Quebec court Judge Louis Riverin found the investigative body was neither impartial nor transparent in its communications with the public about the case that dates back March 2017.

The family argued in its lawsuit the BEI had caused moral damages for a misleading news release issued 18 months after Koray's death, prior to the decision from the prosecution. 

Lynda Khelil, a longtime activist and representative for the human rights group Ligue des droits et libertés, said the judge's decision in Celik's case is a validation of what families and advocates have been saying for years.

"The government needs to take action to transform the BEI so it can become an independent, impartial and transparent organization," Khelil said.