Monday, November 2, 2009

Quebec: Officers accused of inciting violence to testify before police ethics panel

Three undercover officers accused of inciting protesters to attack riot police at the 2007 North American leaders summit in Montebello are being summoned to testify before Quebec's independent police ethics committee.

The decision from the committee released this week overrules an independent review that exonerated the officers. It also comes more than two years after the black-clad trio were first exposed on YouTube.

Dave Coles, the union leader who confronted the men at the time and filed a complaint against the police, said a public inquiry is needed to determine whether they were acting on orders from federal officials.

[ ... ]

Shortly after the incident, Mr. Day dismissed calls for an inquiry. His successor, Peter Van Loan, said through a spokesperson Friday that it is up to Quebec to decide whether an inquiry is needed.

Video images of the incident posted on YouTube showed three officers disguised as protesters wearing black tops and camouflage pants.

Their faces were covered by black and white bandanas. One of them, wearing a sideways ball cap marked with graffiti, held a large stone in his hand.

Mr. Coles yelled at them to show their faces and the officer carrying the rock responded with a two-handed shove.

“Although infiltration by police officers in order to arrest criminal offenders is acceptable, all acts committed by these officers towards this end are not necessarily legitimate,” a report by the Police Ethics Committee said.

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