Man assaulted by Montreal cop surprised at her guilty verdict

Montreal police officer Stéfanie Trudeau rocketed to infamy when she was caught on camera pepper-spraying a protestor in 2012.

On Thursday, she was found guilty in another incident, where she assaulted a man named Serge Lavoie, violently arresting him using a choke hold. The altercation happened after Trudeau handcuffed Lavoie's friend, who had been holding an open bottle of beer. 

Lavoie spoke to As It Happens host Carol Off after the verdict. He says, "She grabbed me, pulled me toward the stairs, grabbed me by the neck and brought me down the stairs."

"I really thought it was the end of my life at the time." 

In court, Quebec Judge Daniel Bédard called Trudeau's actions "brutal and dangerous."

Trudeau will be sentenced next week. Levoie says that, despite the assault conviction, he doesn't want to see her punished too severely.

"She's a mother of two young kids, so I don't think it's a good thing for her to go to jail," he says. "I think all the police officers have to learn: don't do that."