Quebec City police probing third video of violent altercation; same officers repeatedly involved
Published Wednesday, December 1, 2021 4:44PM EST Last Updated Friday, December 3, 2021 3:39PM EST
MONTREAL -- Quebec City police said one of its officers who was suspended after two videos circulated on social media showing violent altercations is now implicated in a third video that has surfaced online.
The actions of the officer in the new video are now part of an "ongoing internal investigation," a spokesperson for the SPVQ told CTV News.
The officer has not been identified.
READ MORE: Province orders new probe after second video with violent Quebec City police altercation goes viral
The Quebec City police service is in the spotlight this week after it announced five officers were suspended following video footage of a violent takedown of Black youth outside the Dagobert bar circulated online.
The next day, a second video appeared online showing officers punching and jamming their knees into a white man's back at a restaurant, while he lies face-down in broken glass.
The victim, Jean-Philippe St-Laurent, shared photos of his bloodied sweater and cuts on his face after the altercation, saying his nose was broken and he had a concussion.
Quebec's public safety minister, Geneviève Guilbault, has ordered a police ethics investigation into both incidents.
It then became clear that a single squad, and in fact some of the same officers, appeared in both videos. When police announced that five of the officers involved in the first video had been suspended, it added that three of them were involved in both violent altercations.
Shortly after, an even longer pattern seemed to emerge.
On Wednesday afternoon, La Presse published a video showing a third violent altercation involving Quebec City police, though it appeared the video was recorded weeks ago.
The officer, which police confirmed is involved in at least the first video of the takedown of Black youth, can be heard saying, "Do you want me to tear gas you?" while swearing at him just before he forcefully shoves him back into a police cruiser.
Police have not released any other details of the third video that is being investigated and said they could not confirm whether or not the officer in that video was involved in all three altercations.
In a news conference in Quebec City, Mayor Bruno Marchand said he has confidence in the city's chief of police, Denis Turcotte.
"The images are shocking and troubling, the investigation is underway and I'm reassured by the investigation," he said, adding that "we can't put all our police in the same baskets."
LISTEN ON CJAD 800 RADIO: What is wrong with Quebec City's police force? Alexane Drolet, Reporter at Noovo Info
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