A police intervention degenerated in Quebec when around 60 people behaved aggressively toward officers near a bar overnight Friday, said the Service de police de la Ville de Québec (SPVQ).
Five people were arrested, while two police officers had to be hospitalized.
According to the SPVQ, patrol officers had to intervene around 12:45 a.m. on Saturday in response to a call about a man who wanted to fight with several people on rue Saint-Joseph.
The 21-year-old man was arrested for disorder, but at the time of his arrest, the officers witnessed another assault that took place a few meters from them between two people.
“Police approached a suspect and arrested him. It was at this time that a hostile gathering of around 60 people converged in the direction of the police intervention,” the SPVQ said in a press release.
“During the intervention, a 29-year-old man violently attacked a police officer, causing the latter to fall to the ground. The suspect began to constrain the movement of the police officer on the ground. Other officers had to use force on the suspect to subdue him and arrest him.”
Among the crowd, a 26-year-old man was “shouting, clearly urging the crowd to remain hostile toward the police,” according to the police. An officer used pepper spray to “keep a safe distance between the aggressive crowd and the police,” the SPVQ said.
Once the situation was under control, four men were arrested for causing a disturbance and swearing at a peace officer, while the 29-year-old man was arrested for assault causing injury to a peace officer. The latter remains detained.
Police say some suspects strongly resisted arrest and “necessary force” had to be used to subdue them.
Two police officers were taken to a hospital, including one with serious head injuries, and two other officers suffered injuries that did not require ambulance transport.
