A Montreal man is facing criminal charges in connection with a dramatic confrontation with police on Thursday in a busy area downtown near the Université de Quebec à Montréal (UQAM).
Three officers were sent to hospital following a head-on collision while trying to subdue the suspect.
He was eventually subdued with a Taser.
Court records show that Kodee McDonald, 34, was charged on Friday with assaulting peace officers.
The prosecution alleged that he used, carried and threatened to use a weapon or imitation weapon during the incident.
McDonald is also charged with resisting or willfully obstructing police officers in the execution of their duties.
In a separate charge, court documents allege McDonald breached the conditions of a probation order by possessing a weapon or imitation weapon.
Caught on camera
Video of the confrontation sparked concern about the police actions, particularly when the squad cars collided after appearing to try to ram the man.
SPVM chief Fady Dagher said that it is a technique officers are trained to perform when trying to subdue someone.
“Usually, we don’t use the technique of using the car, but we use the bumper on purpose to destabilize the person, not to kill the person,” he said.
Dagher said that he understands the criticism of his officers, but also praised them for eventually subduing a man without any major injuries who had two knives and a history of mental health issues.
“You have to understand, 7:45 a.m., the cops, they were patrolling that area, Berri and Sainte-Catherine, full of people, and they were right next to the university [UQAM] and the metro,” said Dagher. “We were scared that person would get inside the metro or the university. He had two knives on him, and he was completely disabled by his mental health, so he was in crisis.”
Dagher said it’s important to explain what happened and why, adding that police knew the man and had five encounters with him in the past year-and-a-half.
“Mentally, he’s very disturbed, and every time we have to use a level of force because he’s never, never collaborative,” he said.
Dagher said police were doing everything in their power to prevent injury or death, including using a Taser, rubber bullets and the maneuver with the two vehicles.
He said that everything did not go smoothly, but that the police watchdog (BEI) will not investigate as there were no serious injuries.
Questions, however, continue to arise as videos continue to circulate.
“I was a bit sad because the person was needing something other than police intervention, for sure, and I think everybody would agree on that,” said criminologist Remi Boivin. “But the police is the only service that was available to him at that point.”
Boivin said more needs to be done earlier before these encounters escalate.
