Hundreds Marched To Protest Police Brutality In Montreal & Were Met With Police Calls To Disperse

A crowd of several hundred demonstrators took to the streets in N.D.G. on Wednesday, March 15, as part of an annual protest against police brutality. Holding a banner reading "La police tue en prison et dans la rue," demonstrators marched on the International Day Against Police Brutality just weeks after Nicous D'Andre Spring was killed while illegally detained in a Montreal prison.

The organizers of the protest, the Collectif opposé à la brutalité policière (COBP), honoured Spring's death and argued that police brutality encompasses violence in prisons as well.

"Police officers and detention officers may have different names and functions in theory, but they perform the same role of repression and violence. At this stage, we have to realize that the state continues to build new prisons and invest in ever more lethal police forces," COBP wrote in a Facebook event ahead of the march.

As protestors walked from Parc Girouard to Vendôme station, Montreal police officers on foot, in cars and on horseback repeatedly requested that the group disperse, MTL Blog's Kathleen Gannon reports.

The march was followed by several police vehicles, including a riot truck, and officers on bikes. Later in the evening, towards the end of the demonstration, roughly 25 riot police in full gear were spotted following the march.

Police made one arrest on the charge of assault and counted five other instances of mischief, CTV News says. The outlet also reports the protest was deemed illegal after only 15 minutes. MTL Blog has reached out to the SPVM for more information.