Police in Gatineau, Quebec, are under scrutiny on social media after a video purporting to show officers arresting a person for violating coronavirus restrictions went viral.
Gatineau police said that two people were arrested and fines were given out after they received a call notifying them of a six-person gathering on New Year’s Eve. Both indoor and outdoor private gatherings are banned as part of Quebec’s response to the COVID-19 pandemic, according to CTV News.
The profanity-laden video shows officers and people inside a residence loudly arguing and begins with what appears to be an officer and one of those inside the house holding on to one another. Some on social media said the video showed a gross overreaction by officers enforcing the area’s COVID-19 restrictions, although the police said the video is selectively edited and that one of those involved hit an officer.
Il faut que ça devienne viral. RT en masse les amis. La lumière doit être fait sur cet événement. pic.twitter.com/nnxsGcQcOn
— Nusakan le récalcitrant (@Nusakan007) January 1, 2021
“The video shows only an excerpt from the intervention,” the police force said in French. “The individuals were recalcitrant and refused to cooperate. The individual arrested in the video had assaulted a police officer, hitting him in the face a few times.”
“We ask for your collaboration to continue to respect health measures and collaborate during any police intervention,” the police added.
The man in the video, which has already racked up more than 1.5 million views on Twitter, was charged with obstructing an officer and assault, and the home’s owner was arrested and charged for alleged refusal to provide personal information, although both were later released at the scene of the confrontation.
Fines of $1,546 were also reportedly levied against all of the people at the gathering.
