Anti-brutality march turns violent in Montreal
MONTREAL — Police in full riot gear clashed with anti-police protesters in Montreal on Saturday.
More than 200 chanting demonstrators converged on downtown streets to condemn unjust police brutality.
Several marchers launched beer bottles, snowballs and chunks of ice at officers, members of the media and passersby.
In one melee, demonstrators smashed the windows of a police van with wooden sticks and tried to snatch equipment.
An Anti-Police Brutality demonstrator is arrested in Montreal during a protest that became violent, Saturday, March 15, 2008. (THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Graham Hughes.)
They also damaged cars and broke several storefront windows as they snaked their way through Montreal's core.
“There's one Molotov cocktail that has been thrown in one car, there was also mischief in two Metro [subway] stations,” said Constable Lynne Labelle.
“No one has been injured, fortunately.”
Constable Labelle said some 20 people were arrested. Most of the marchers wore masks.
Dozens of officers and police cruisers swarmed the streets while a helicopter circled overhead.
A protester who calls himself “Frank” says the judicial system allows police to get away with too much.
“We're here to denounce police violence and the impunity, the fact that they kill people and they get away with it,” he said before the march.
He also said police have a long history of racial profiling and frequently target the homeless.
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