Police officers intervened at the residence on rue le Baron after receiving an anonymous complaint from a neighbor late Thursday evening.
According to the Service de police de la Ville de Gatineau, the owner of the home was lying and claimed that there were only two in the house. But the noise and the number of cars in the entrance did not contradict. They were more than two. The police therefore warned them.
Usually people collaborate, but in this case, not at all
, says Mariane Leduc, responsible for communications and community relations at police de la Ville de Gatineau">SPVG.
An aggressive man did not want to cooperate with the police. She explains that the intervention quickly escalated.
Two contradictory versions
Mathieu Tessier was present during the evening which took place at his sister’s house. When I heard my mother screaming, I went out. It didn’t come to the fists, but we pulled out a lot.
Mathieu Tessier took part in an illegal gathering on December 31, 2020.
Photo: Radio-Canada / Marielle Guimond
—
He posted on social media a video captured by one of the participants in the illegal gathering. We see muscular exchanges, both verbal and physical, between police officers and revelers.
The police did not have their masks, or at least most of them. Either they wore it wrong or they just weren’t
, says the resident of Gatineau.
According to Mathieu Tessier and his sister, the police intervention was disproportionate, the police officers used excessive force and several of them did not comply with health measures.
Indeed, in the video, we can see a policeman who is not wearing a mask. However, the police de la Ville de Gatineau (SPVG)">SPVG has a very specific explanation: the policeman in question had just been hit on the head. He had lost his mask.
After this exchange, the police explained that the officers on the spot had to call for reinforcements since the situation had gotten out of hand. Two policemen were attacked by the participants in the evening.
Arriving with a bang on the scene, these reinforcements did not have time to put on their masks, reports communications manager Mariane Leduc.
Officers from the Gatineau Police Department were called to a Gatineau residence on December 31 to interrupt an illegal gathering.
Photo: Radio-Canada
—
According to protocol, all police officers must wear face coverings when physical distancing of two meters is not possible. It is explained, however, that in certain circumstances the urgency to intervene takes priority.
I think yesterday, I was no longer in danger of catching the famous virus once the police arrived. There were more police in my house than there were many people in my house. It proves that it makes no sense
, says Mathieu Tessier.
Mathieu Tessier and his sister were arrested and then released late on the night of December 31. We are told that we will receive a fine in the mail
, explains Mr. Tessier.
Family comes first, even before a $ 1,800 ticket.
The Police Department is unable to say how many public health law violations will be issued for illegal assembly, but confirms that it is highly likely that all participants will receive a hefty fine.
He also indicates that charges of assault will be brought against some recalcitrant and that possible charges of obstructing police work could also be issued.
On the night of December 31, the police de la Ville de Gatineau">SPVG received some thirty complaints for illegal assembly in Gatineau, but none of the police interventions led to such a slippage.
–
