Video of Montreal police officer pepper spraying man in the face prompts investigation

Montreal police have launched an investigation into an incident, captured on video and posted on social media, that shows an officer pepper spraying a driver, who is black, in the face at close range.

Police have confirmed the authenticity of the video, which is about a minute long, saying it depicts events that took place Saturday night not far from the Grand Prix celebrations on Ste-Catherine and Drummond streets.

Mayor Valérie Plante called the images "worrisome." The mayor said she spoke to the head of the police service about the incident this morning.

When the video begins, a police officer appears to be speaking to the driver, who is sitting in his stationary car, through the open car window.

Their conversation is inaudible. Seconds later, the same officer pepper sprays the driver in the face.

At least three police officers eventually remove the driver from the car, lean him against a police cruiser, and attempt to detain him.

"For honking? Stop this," the driver says while struggling, then accuses the officers of being racist.

The person filming the incident then asks for an officer's badge number, and at one point calls the officers stupid.

His request goes unanswered, so the amateur videographer repeats himself. Seconds later, he is pepper sprayed as well. The video ends soon after.

The two men were pepper sprayed by two different officers.

The video had garnered more than 300,000 views on Facebook before it was taken down sometime between Sunday night and Monday morning.

Driver did not identify himself when asked, police say

Ian Lafrenière, head of police communications, would not say whether he thought the officers had acted appropriately.

"We will wait until we have all the information before we judge the work of the officers," he told Radio-Canada.

He said every time there is a use of force event, police have to fill out a report and that it will help clarify the situation.

Lafrenière said officers at the scene had closed Ste-Catherine Saturday night due to heavy pedestrian traffic.

The driver was stuck in that traffic and repeatedly honked his horn, which police said amounted to egging on the crowd. 

Bicycle officers asked the driver to identify himself so they could give him a ticket for excessive honking, but he would not, Lafrenière said. A number of drivers were issued tickets for the same offence that night, he added.

The driver collided with one of the police bikes during the incident, Lafrenière said. 

"If you feel that you received a ticket and you don't feel it was appropriate, this [doesn't give you the] right to challenge the officers, to push them, to run away," he said.

It is unclear when in the sequence of events that collision occurred. The video shows the driver trying to advance in his car then stopping abruptly, but only after he was pepper sprayed.

The second use of pepper spray was a judgment call, Lafrenière said, and stressed that police are waiting to get all the facts before determining whether the situation was handled well.

Quebec's Highway Safety Code states a driver should only use their horn when necessary. According to the province's automobile insurance board, excessive honking can lead to a fine of up to $281.

Lafrenière said the driver of the car was arrested, given two tickets and released. He may face criminal charges.